A CoreCivic employee who works at the Silverdale Detention Center in Chattanooga tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
The employee tested positive after a close family member tested positive, a news release states. CoreCivic is the private prison operator that manages the detention center.
The release states Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended guidelines are being utilized at the facility, and jail personnel are currently tracking all inmates and personnel who may have come into contact with the employee. The sheriff's office is working with CoreCivic and the Hamilton County Health Department to safeguard the health of inmates and personnel and this includes planning facility-wide testing employees and inmates.
The release does not state when this testing might take place, but officials state the testing will be scheduled as soon as materials are available. The health department is treating this incident as an urgent situation and is working closely with the state government to coordinate testing efforts.
Updates on testing will provided as they become available, the release states.
Also in the Chattanooga area, the Tennessee Department of Corrections says inmates at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex west of Pikeville, Tennessee, are recovering from COVID-19 with 580 of the 586 cases confirmed on April 18 completing 14 days of isolation and showing no symptoms.
This is a developing story. Stay with the Times Free Press for updates.
(VIEW OUR CORONAVIRUS TRACKER HERE)