WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Employees at the Washington State Penitentiary are now getting tested regularly for COVID-19, according to a memo from the Department of Corrections this week.

As of Tuesday, Aug. 25, 121 inmates have tested positive since the outbreak started in Unit 6 of the Walla Walla prison. Sixty are currently infected, according to the state corrections office. Spokeswoman Janelle Guthrie said none have been hospitalized so far.

Guthrie said 702 tests have been administered to staff members so far this week, but no results have been returned yet.

In addition to the testing, staff members at the prison are being encouraged to wash their hands more frequently and practice social distancing.

The testing is to happen every seven days until further notice.

Guthrie said the prison is also going to change its flow of people entering the building to increase social distancing. The state is working to acquire more hand sanitizer for employees.

Union representatives for Teamsters Local 117, the labor organization that represents staff at the penitentiary, have not responded to requests for comment regarding the safety of employees. So far, 12 staff members at the Walla Walla facility have tested positive.

The union is currently in a dispute with the DOC, claiming the state is violating the law with unfair labor practices.

The state has proposed a 3% wage reduction for DOC staff in light of pandemic-related budget woes, but union leaders say the state has not provided that proof.

Meanwhile, the fiancee of an inmate who spoke out last week about conditions at the prison fears for her partner’s well-being.

Regina Eddy of Moses Lake said she has not heard from her fiance Lance Werst after he told her last week that he tested positive for COVID-19. Eddy said Werst was not satisfied with the way DOC leadership appeared to be handling the virus outbreak at the penitentiary.

Eddy said there has been no communication from him nor from Corrections on his condition. Normally, he communicates to her through the prison’s J-Pay texting system, which she said should still be available to him while in quarantine.

A girlfriend of another inmate said she’d lost faith in the agency after it placed an inmate at Airway Heights Corrections Center in the same cell as his sister’s rapist and he beat the man to death.

Guthrie said approved family members and friends can get updates by calling the health services facility at the respective prisons where loved ones are held.

Guthrie also mentioned that Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, which appeared to be the epicenter of the state prison outbreak of the virus, now has zero active cases.