YACOLT — The Washington Department of Corrections reported Wednesday there are 79 active COVID-19 cases among incarcerated individuals and three among staff at Larch Corrections Center, the first drop in cases since the outbreak began in early February.
The minimum-security prison near Yacolt was placed on facilitywide outbreak status Feb. 7 after four inmates in the living unit tested positive. Incarcerated individuals who test positive are being temporarily relocated to the prison’s Elkhorn Unit to help stop the virus’s spread, according to the department.
On Friday, the DOC reported 97 active cases among incarcerated individuals and six among staff.
To date, 397 incarcerated individuals and 68 staff members have tested positive, according to the DOC. The majority of those cases came during an outbreak in late 2020, with more than 90 percent of the inmate population testing positive.
In December, the most recent data available, Larch’s average daily population was 222, with a capacity of 240.
