The COVID-19 outbreak at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex is one of the largest clusters of infection in the United States, and has made the small East Tennessee county one of the worst hot spots in the country, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

Out of 10 large clusters highlighted by the Times, eight are in prisons or jails.

The Tennessee Department of Correction’s most recent figures, updated on April 25, show 576 positive cases at the prison with 56 tests still pending. Nearly 25 percent of the 2,327 prisoners who have been tested there have received positive results. Attorneys with clients at the prison tell the Scene that lockdowns have limited prisoners’ ability to make phone calls to family members and that even legal calls are being restricted in order to minimize movement inside. FULL STORY HERE