Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services has contracted with Quest Diagnostics for COVID-19 testing at the Department of Corrections and state veterans homes.
A spokesman said the $10 million contract will reduce the burden on the state Public Health Lab. Corrections Department tests currently consume 26 percent of that lab’s tests.
Officials say the state contract should produce a notable decrease in turnaround times for other entities using the state lab.
The contract is being paid for by CARES Act funding from the federal government.
The contract was prompted by the outbreak at Warm Springs Correctional Center in Carson City where some 505 of the roughly 550 inmates have tested positive as of Thursday.
This week, officials say 79 of the 95 offenders housed at the Humboldt Conservation Camp in Winnemucca tested positive for the virus. The 16 inmates who tested negative are now housed in their own wing at the camp.
The camp’s entire population will be retested Nov. 25.
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