Coronavirus Reaches 2 Louisiana Prisons as Cases Increase

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards says Louisiana is doing everything it can to protect inmates in the state's prisons from the coronavirus.

Two prison workers have tested positive for the virus. The Louisiana Department of Corrections hasn't named the two prisons where the employees worked.

The agency says the workers had limited contact with other staff and inmates and no inmates have tested positive.

Inmates who may have been exposed to the workers are quarantined.

The announcement heightened concerns that the tightly packed populations are at risk for an outbreak.

Louisiana has surpassed 2,700 people statewide known to be infected with the virus.

The state health department says 119 residents have died from COVID-19, an increase of 36 deaths from a day earlier.