GLENVILLE, W.Va. — The federal Bureau of Prisons has suspended visitation at the federal prison in Gilmer County until further notice after confirming four additional positive COVID-19 cases associated with the prison, bringing the total to five.
On its coronavirus website, the BOP says all five cases at FCI Gilmer near Gilmer involve imates and not staff.
The BOP transferred 124 inmates to Gilmer two weeks ago after that prison, along with FCI Hazelton in Preston County, were designated as two of the BOP’s 10 quarantine sites for new prisoners coming into the system. One of those inmates tested positive for COVID-19 at Gilmer on May 1. Four more have tested positive since. FCI Gilmer had no positive cases before the tranfers.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said late last week that he was told by U.S. Attorney William Barr that inmates wouldn’t be transferred to either Gilmer or Hazelton for the remainder of the pandemic.