Mass testing begins at second North Carolina prison

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Mass COVID-19 testing is happening at a second North Carolina state prison.

The Department of Public Safety said testing began Friday for all inmates at the medium-security Caswell Correctional Center, with results expected next week. The department says testing is occurring there because close to 40 prisoners or staff have tested positive since mid-April.

A similar mass testing occurred last month at the dormitory-style Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro, where over 450 prisoners tested positive. The number of overall COVID-19 cases statewide is now almost 27,700 overall.

Nursing home residents account for more than half of the state’s 860 deaths.