April 27, 2020 The Honorable William P. Barr Attorney General of the United States U.S Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Director Michael Carvajal Federal Bureau of Prisons U.S. Department of Justice 320 First Street, NW Washington, DC 20534 Dear Attorney General Barr and Director Carvajal: Thank you for keeping me apprised of developments related to the COVID-19 outbreak at Federal Correctional Institution Elkton in Lisbon, Ohio. I know the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons are working hard to contain the outbreak and keep the inmates, staff, and local community safe. I appreciate FCI Elkton’s efforts to quarantine new inmates, as well as inmates approved for home confinement, for 14 days; to take the temperature of staff and inmates regularly; and to isolate inmates showing symptoms of COVID-19. I am concerned, however, that given the highly contagious nature of the outbreak and significant transmission by asymptomatic carriers, FCI Elkton is currently unable to test enough inmates to contain the spread of the disease. FCI Elkton houses approximately 2,400 inmates. As of April 24, 2020, Bureau staff told my staff that 65 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, as well as 49 staff members. They reported that FCI Elkton only has been testing inmates showing symptoms of COVID-19, but as we have learned over the last several months, asymptomatic carriers can transmit the virus. On April 24, Bureau staff told my staff that it expects FCI Elkton to receive 100 tests each week. Even with this increased number of tests, it would take almost six months to test the entire inmate population of FCI Elkton one time. As the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio observed last week, “With the shockingly limited available testing and the inability to distance inmates, COVID- The Honorable William P. Barr Director Michael Carvajal April 27, 2020 Page 2 of 2 19 is going to continue to spread, not only among the inmate population, but also among staff.”1 The lack of sufficient COVID-19 testing at FCI Elkton is unacceptable. It threatens the lives of the FCI Elkton inmates as well as Ohioans in the greater northeast Ohio region. Even as we make strides in Ohio to quell this pandemic, outbreaks in congregate settings like prisons can spill over through the staff and medical professionals who are coming in and out of the prison each day to care for these inmates and could undo the progress that we are making. Additional testing today could save lives and resources. I urge the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to ensure that FCI Elkton can test all those who need to be tested, including potentially asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. I also encourage the Bureau of Prisons to leverage state and local partnerships in Ohio that potentially could increase FCI Elkton’s testing capacity. Thank you for your attention to this pressing matter. Please let me know if I can be of assistance as you work to increase testing of FCI Elkton inmates and staff. Sincerely, Rob Portman U.S. Senator 1 Order, Wilson v. Williams, Case No. 4:30-cv-00794 (N.D. Oh. Apr. 22, 2020).