Recent coronavirus outbreaks at Missouri correctional facilities are prompting some advocates for prison inmates to urge the state to require face coverings for staff. The Missouri Department of Corrections reported Monday that 539 prisoners and 122 staff members across the state have tested positive for COVID-19. The majority of those cases have occurred in recent weeks at four facilities — 354 of the 539 cases are considered “active." Hedy Harden, chairwoman of Missouri CURE, a St. Louis-based prisoner advocacy organization, says people who work at prisons are those most likely to introduce the virus to the facilities.
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