COVID cases surge at immigration detention center in Georgia, ICE data shows
This article features Government Accountability Project’s whistleblower clients, Drs. Scott Allen and Josiah “Jody” Rich, and was originally published here.
The number of COVID-19 infections at a federal immigration detention center in Georgia has increased significantly amid the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant, according to data released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, about 140 miles south of Atlanta, reported 141 cases of COVID-19 within the facility as of Feb. 3 and that the facility has recorded 4 deaths related to COVID-19. Those cases make up almost 12% of the detention center’s average daily population of 1,183 detainees.
The number of COVID-19 cases was even higher toward the end of January, when ICE was monitoring 213 cases within the facility, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
In total, the detention center has recorded 1,436 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, ICE said on its website. The facility has had the highest number of detainee deaths out of any federal immigration detention facility, according to data on the website, though the data notes that COVID-19 may not be the official cause of death in those cases, as any death reported after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis is included in this figure.
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