FREELAND, MI (WNEM) -
WNEM TV5 has learned that the Saginaw Correctional Facility in Freeland is under a medical quarantine.
John Cordell with the Michigan Department of Corrections said the outbreak is some type of gastrointestinal virus. Officials are currently trying to determine exactly what type. Cordell said 10 to 20 inmates are sick with the virus.
Authorities said the quarantine should be lifted in a week or so when the virus has run its course.
Employees who contract the virus are advised to see their doctors and not report to work.
According to the Michigan Department of Corrections website, the 43-acre facility in Tittabawassee Township, Saginaw County, was built on a 142-acre site and is comprised of 11 main buildings totaling about 303,850 square feet. The facility includes three Level II buildings, three Level IV buildings, and one Level I building along with buildings for education, programs, administration, food service, healthcare and maintenance.
The website says the perimeter of the prison is enclosed by a double, 12-foot fence, topped with razor-ribbon wire. The wire also is installed in the open space between the fences to enhance the barrier. An electronic detection system has been placed on both the inner and outer fences. In 1996, a third fence, with its own electronic detection system, was erected. Security cameras, strategically placed within the prison and around the perimeter, allow 24-hour remote observation and videotaping of prisoner activities. Two gun towers were added in 1997. A perimeter vehicle with armed personnel is on patrol 24 hours a day.
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Saginaw Correctional Facility -- Image courtesy of Prisonprofiler.com
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