Nearly 600 inmates test positive for COVID-19 at Bledsoe Co. prison

Nearly 600 inmates at a Bledsoe County prison tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

At least 576 inmates at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex have tested positive for COVID-19 with 1,695 inmates testing negative and results pending for 54.

The facility is listed as second on a

of counties in the nation with the highest number of cases per resident,

Kenneth Williams, TDOC Chief Medical Director, said the overwhelming number of cases can be traced back to the employees at the prison for failing to practice proper social distancing.

“That perception is misguided in the fact that where it will actually start is not in the prison and then come out into the community. It is, in fact, the other way around," Williams said.