Georgia Department of Corrections COVID-19 Response

Georgia Department of Corrections COVID-19 Response

Lee State Prison Update

FORSYTH, Ga. – The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) continues to monitor the status of offenders at Lee State Prison (SP), following three confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, as reported on March 20. 

The following updates have been provided to the Department of Public Health (DPH), as of this writing:

• Three offenders remain at the hospital after being confirmed positive for COVID-19 (one admitted March 15 and two admitted March 16);
• One offender admitted on March 22 for observation and flu-like symptoms; not yet tested;
• Ten offenders isolated in quarantine at Lee SP for observation for exhibiting flu-like symptoms; of those, four have been tested for COVID-19 and results are pending.

Medical staff at the facility are proactively checking vital signs for all offenders, to include temporal temperature readings. Additionally, the GDC continues to screen staff entering each of our facilities, with questionnaire-based attestation documents and temporal temperature screening. 

Lee SP is currently the only GDC facility with positive COVID-19 cases reported among the offender population, and functions at that facility (Lee SP) which are typically performed by offender crews are now being conducted only by GDC staff in an effort to limit movement. Additional protocols may be implemented as the situation warrants or as recommended by DPH, and the GDC will communicate updates via our website and social media channels.

For accurate and reliable information about COVID-19, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

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About the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC)

The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 54,000 state prisoners. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees. For more information on the GDC, call 478-992-5247 or visit http://www.gdc.ga.gov