The federal prison in Elkton located in Lisbon houses about 2,400 inmates as of April 24, 2020, 65 inmates have tested positive for the virus along with 49 staff members. Seven inmates have died from COVID-19.

Senator Portman said, "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."

Portman added, "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."

Senator Portman's office states as of this week FCI Elkton will begin receiving 100 tests a week. Currently the prison there has only been testing inmates who show symptoms of coronavirus. Without widespread testing of prisoners it will be impossible to isolate all COVID-19 carriers and the virus will continue to spread since people can carry the virus without showing symptoms.

Portman's letter goes on to explain that even with the increased number of tests, it would take almost 6 months to test the entire population of at the correctional institute. He quoted the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio observed last week, "With shockingly limited available testing and the inability to distance inmates COVID-19 is going to continue to spread, not only among the inmates population, but also among staff."