Pox at Arkansas prison leads to quarantine of nearly 300 inmates

The Arkansas Department of Correction quarantined nearly 300 inmates Thursday after identifying five suspected cases of chickenpox, the agency said in a release.

The group of inmates at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys will reportedly remain quarantined through Oct. 10, and the isolation will be lifted the next day if no new cases are reported.

Quarantined inmates will have visitation privileges and group activities restricted during that time, agency spokesman Solomon Graves said.

The prison will require all visitors to sign a notice acknowledging the presence of chickenpox at the lockup and the associated risks, according to the release.

Staff members diagnosed as having the disease will be restricted from duty until released by their physicians. Employees who can't provide documents showing that they have had chickenpox and those who have not been vaccinated for the virus will not work with the quarantined group, the agency said.

Arkansas prison and health departments and the prison's contract medical services provider, Correct Care Solutions, are working together to address the suspected outbreak, the release said.

Brickeys, in Lee County, is about 110 miles east of Little Rock and 46 miles south and west of Memphis.

State Desk on 09/22/2017

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