Up North Progressive

Beginning on May 4, 2020, the Michigan National Guard medical specialists will assist the Michigan Department of Corrections in testing inmates at MDOC prison facilities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Baraga Correctional Facility will be the first prison to receive testing. The rest of the MDOC facilities in the UP: Alger Correctional Facility, Marquette Branch Prison, Newberry Correctional Facility, Chippewa Correctional Facility, and Kinross Correctional Facility. In total, 7,500 prisoners will be tested, which is the current combined population in these prisons.

15 teams will complete the testing in the prisons. The teams are 3 people each, with one member from the Michigan National Guard on each team. Once the teams complete testing, it will take 48 hours for processing and results.

We are very grateful for the support from the National Guard in this effort to continue our testing of prisoners across the state,” said MDOC Director Heidi Washington. “Their assistance will allow us to accelerate our plans for testing our population, which will help us keep our staff, prisoners and the public safe.

The majority of National Guard soldiers involved with the testing project live in the UP.

Testing of prisons, nursing homes, and other care facilities in the coming weeks will provide a more accurate picture of just how far the spread of COVID-19 really is in Michigan. Recent testing of food processing facilities in other Midwestern states revealed alarming numbers of positive cases forcing factories to close.

More testing needs to happen before there can be a real response to coronavirus in the US. Currently, in the US, only two percent of Americans received tests for the virus. 1.2 million Americans tested positive for the virus, and 70,000 people have died. The virus continues to spread nationwide.