(CNN) — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed 5,200 adult immigrants in quarantine after being exposed to mumps or chicken pox, the agency says.
ICE has recorded cases of either mumps or chicken pox in 39 immigrant detention centers nationwide, and ICE official tells CNN.
Of the 5,200 detainees in quarantine across those centers, around 4,200 are for exposure to mumps. Around 800 were exposed to chicken pox and 100 have been exposed to both.
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Just because individuals are quarantined doesn’t mean they have the mumps, but they’ve at least been exposed to it. From September 2018 to June 13, 297 people in ICE custody had confirmed cases of mumps, proven by blood test.
There are around 52,000 single adults in ICE custody overall.
The agency has previously dealt with contagious diseases, like the measles, the flu and chicken pox, but last September was the first time the agency recorded mumps cases. It’s not clear where the disease derived from or how it spread. Seventy-five percent of the immigrants coming into ICE custody come from the border, though immigrants might also interact with inmates at jails, some of which also hold immigrants.
“I think there is heightened interest in this situation because it’s the mumps, which is a new occurrence in custody, but preventing the spread of communicable disease in ICE custody is something we have demonstrated success doing,” said Nathalie Asher, ICE executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations.
“From an operational perspective, the impact is significant in the short and long term and will result in an increase in cohorted detainees’ length of stay in detention, an inability to effect removal of eligible cohorted detainees, and postponing scheduled consular interviews for quarantined detainees,” she added.
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ICE quarantines individuals for 25 days from the last incubation period.
The official said staff has also been put on alert. “This week, the ICE Health Service Corps issued a reminder to senior field leadership reminding their staff to review vaccination records and take appropriate actions,” the person said.
The number of detainees quarantined has jumped dramatically from earlier this year. There were 2,287 detainees in quarantine for “exposure to a detainee with a contagious condition,” as of March 7, ICE said.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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