A total of 823 inmates and 25 staff have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex in California's Santa Barbara County, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Friday.
The complex in Lompoc, California is comprised of two facilities: FCI Lompoc, a low-security correctional institution that houses 1,162 inmates, and USP Lompoc, a medium-security US penitentiary that houses 1,542 inmates.
At the FCI Lompoc facility, 792 of 1,162 inmates -- or approximately 68% of that facility's total inmate population -- have tested positive for the virus, according to the latest BOP data.
An additional 31 inmates have tested positive at the neighboring USP Lompoc facility.
Two inmates have died at the complex due to coronavirus complications, the BOP reported in a press release.
BOP authorities have suspended all visitations to the complex until further notice. Inmate use of telephone and email stations at FCI Lompoc has been suspended through to May 18 to "ensure the safety of the inmates and staff while decreasing the spread of the COVID-19 virus," the BOP said.
The background: Across federal and state prisons, thousands of inmates have tested positive for the virus -- many of whom showed no symptoms when they were infected. In Ohio, more than 20% of the people infected with coronavirus are prisoners. And in Colorado, the state's largest outbreak is in a correctional facility.
Read more about outbreaks in US prisons here.