Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) sent a letter urging Attorney General William Barr and Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal to increase COVID-19 testing at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Elkton in Lisbon, Ohio.

FCI Elkton currently houses approximately 2,400 inmates and as of April 24, 2020, 65 inmates and 49 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.

As of this week, FCI Elkton will begin receiving 100 tests a week.

Currently, FCI Elkton is only testing inmates showing symptoms of the coronavirus.

In the letter, Portman urges increased testing and details how the lack of sufficient COVID-19 testing at FCI Elkton endangers not only the lives of FCI Elkton inmates but also Ohioans in the greater Northeast Ohio region.

"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," wrote Portman. "Even as we make strides in Ohio to quell this pandemic, outbreaks in congregate settings like prisons can spillover 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."