CDC called to help with COVID crisis at immigrant detainee center in Northern Virginia

Virginia’s governor says that a team of federal scientists has arrived at an immigration detention center in Farmville to address the worst coronavirus outbreak at any such facility in the nation.

The Washington Post reported that the 10-person team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived on Monday.

One detainee died at the privately run facility last week. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that nearly all of the 298 detainees are being monitored for infection.

Gov. Ralph Northam as well as both of Virginia’s U.S. senators, all Democrats, had appealed to President Trump for help last month because the center is operated under a federal contract.

“After pushing for months, I’m relieved to see this necessary — and long-overdue — action,” Northam told the Post in a statement. “I will continue to advocate for the health and safety of all in our Commonwealth, regardless of immigration status.”

A federal lawsuit alleges that detainees were made to sleep in crowded conditions, even after some of them tested positive.

(PHOTO: Associated Press)