Confirmed COVID-19 case at Hutchinson Correctional Facility

TOPEKA, Kansas – Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) Secretary Jeff Zmuda announced today that one resident at Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) tested positive for COVID-19. This is the seventh KDOC facility with a confirmed case, with the first cases reported at Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF), Wichita Work Release Facility, Topeka Correctional Facility, Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex and El Dorado Correctional Facility and Ellsworth Correctional Facility.

The resident at HCF is a male over the age of 30. This male was recently transferred to HCF as a security precaution due to his behavior while at LCF. Upon arrival to HCF, he was immediately taken to the infirmary and kept in a negative air-flow room and was never put into general population. Upon diagnosis, he was transferred back to LCF for observation and treatment. In order to protect the identity of the person, no other information will be released.

The KDOC has been in consultation with officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) on next steps to address these circumstances. As a result of that consultation with KDHE, the following steps were implemented:

• The resident was moved to LCF for medical isolation for treatment of his symptoms

• KDHE conducted contact tracing to determine who among our staff and residents have been in close contact with this individual

• KDOC will remain diligent in monitoring other staff and residents for symptoms

“Transferring residents from Lansing to other facilities is never our first choice, but due to extenuating circumstances, it was necessary,” Zmuda said. “Thankfully our staff took every precaution and we have no reason to believe that any others at the facility are at risk.”

The Hutchinson Correctional Facility is Kansas’ second-oldest prison and houses 1,884 men. Formerly known as the Kansas State Industrial Reformatory, the facility has three buildings including the Central (all custody levels), East (low-medium custody) and South (minimum custody) units.

For current information on COVID-19 in Kansas, and to sign up for updates, go to the KDHE COVID-19 Resource Center at kdhe.ks.gov/coronavirus. For information on the KDOC’s response to COVID-19, visit https://www.doc.ks.gov/kdoc-coronavirus-updates.