T-L File Photo Inmates from Belmont Correctional Institution tend to trees outside the St. Clairsville Community Garden last year after tilling the soil and cleaning up inside the fenced-in area. Prior to the pandemic, the prison offered free landscape services to municipalities and nonprofit organizations. Now four inmates are infected.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — There are now no fewer than four positive cases of COVID-19 among the population at the Belmont Correctional Institute.

All four of the inmates were on their way to being released early through Gov. Mike DeWine’s attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus within the Ohio prison system.

Two inmates tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday afternoon, while two additional inmates received positive test results on Friday.

Belmont County Deputy Health Director Rob Sproul confirmed the cases and pointed out that each Ohio inmate who is set to have his or her sentence end early must be tested before he or she is released. Because of the positive tests, the four inmates remain inside the Belmont Correctional Institute and are in a quarantine for a minimum of 14 days.

According to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation spokeswoman JoEllen Smith, the individuals who test positive are “moved to a different area of the facility away from the general population and quarantine means the facility is operating under modified movement.”

While Sproul couldn’t say where the four infected inmates are originally from, they count toward Belmont County’s total number of cases because their current address is listed as the prison.

As of late Friday afternoon, Sproul indicated Belmont County has had 64 positive tests for coronavirus. The number of deaths remains at three and seven are still hospitalized. However, 20 of those 64 have come out of quarantine and have tested negative for the virus.

“A few more of those are due to come out (of quarantine),” Sproul said.

One thing that Sproul stressed was those numbers are always changing because of the rate at which test results are returned to the counties.

“The Ohio Department of Health puts the results right into the computer, so we’re constantly checking to see if we have additional cases, but some of the private labs fax the results, so we could receive (results) at any time that way,” Sproul said. “It’s really a moving target and makes it tough.”

Sproul couldn’t pinpoint one area of the county that’s getting hit harder than others, but he did say “most of the positive cases we’re seeing now are coming from facilities.”

That includes the Belmont Correctional Institute.

As more and more testing occurs, Sproul doesn’t believe that Belmont County has reached its peak.

“As we’re doing more (testing), there’s a chance the number will continue to grow further,” Sproul said. “As we continue to test more of the general public, we’re going to find more. It’s tough to predict because there are people who won’t show and signs or symptoms.”

Because of its location, proximity to major metropolitan areas such as Pittsburgh, Columbus and Cleveland as well as a major interstate running through the center of the county, Sproul actually believed that Belmont County would have a higher number of positive cases than it currently does.

“With the amount of traffic we have through the county, the number of people who work outside of the county and immediate area, there was definitely a chance ( increased cases) could have happened,” Sproul said. “We’re just continuing to push the social distancing because there are still people out there who could be carrying this that do not even realize it.”