Universal testing for everyone at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, including staff, residents and detainees, has begun after one of the youth detention center’s residents, who was in the process of being released, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.

The Maine Department of Corrections made the announcement late Sunday night, according to a news release submitted to News Center Maine (WCSH/WLBZ-TV).

In the release, the Department of Corrections said the minor, who tested positive for the virus, was asymptomatic for the duration of their stay at Long Creek.

The individual was tested in advance of their release from the facility on Friday, June 26, as part of the state’s new testing at release protocol.  The client, who is a minor, was released from Long Creek later that same day and is now self-quarantining for 14 days.

All staff and clients at Long Creek are currently asymptomatic, but full test results should be available soon. The Maine Department of Corrections did not specify when those results might be known.

In addition to universal testing, the state has implemented Phase 3 restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus at Long Creek. Phase 3 includes the use of personal protective equipment and increased medical monitoring.

On its website, Long Creek says it has the capacity to house 163 youth and lists the total number of staff at 195. Long Creek houses both male and female clients. It is located near South Portland’s Redbank neighborhood and the Portland International Jetport.

In May, the state tested all 700 inmates at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham for COVID-19, but at the time Maine Department of Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty said he had no plans for testing inmates at other correctional facilities in Maine.


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