State Reports 1st Case of Employee at a Juvenile Facility With Positive COVID-19 Test
An employee in the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services tested positive for COVID-19, state officials announced Monday.
The employee, who last reported to work on March 27, was working at the Lower Eastern Shore Children’s Center in Salisbury. The agency was notified of the positive test result on Sunday.
All staff and youth who were in contact with this worker are in quarantine, the Department of Juvenile Services said in a news release on Monday.
In addition, all facility staff and youth have been directed to wear protective masks.
To reduce the risks of infection, DJS is ordering youth to wear masks when out of their rooms. Access to agency facilities is being limited to essential personnel. And all persons entering DJS buildings must undergo a medical screening and temperature check.
The state Department of Health is doing a follow-up test to confirm that the unidentified employee was infected with the novel coronavirus.
On Friday, Maryland’s Office of the Public Defender asked the Court of Appeals to use emergency powers to release juveniles from detention centers throughout the state, citing concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
Danielle E. Gaines contributed to this report.
Editor’s Note: This post was updated to correct the date of the employee’s positive test result.
Bruce DePuyt
Reporter
Bruce DePuyt is a contributor to Maryland Matters, where he was a full-time reporter until December 2022. Previously, DePuyt spent nearly three decades on local television, including 14 years as producer and host of “NewsTalk” on NewsChannel 8 in the Washington, D.C., region. He was a reporter and anchor on “News 21” in Montgomery, where he also served as producer and host of “21 This Week.” He then became a reporter and anchor at NBC affiliate WVIR in Charlottesville, Va. He appears occasionally on WTOP (103.5 FM), WAMU (88.5 FM) and MPT.
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