Judge Orders Immediate Coronavirus Testing at Mesa Verde

Judge Orders Immediate Coronavirus Testing at Mesa Verde

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A judge has ordered immediate testing of all detainees and staff at a Bakersfield immigration detention center where COVID-19 was spreading for weeks while officials refused to test for the virus. The Los Angeles Times reports federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to conduct quick-result testing of everyone in the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield. Chhabria’s order followed results Friday showing nearly half of the detainees tested earlier in the week were positive. A public defender says initial results from quick tests Saturday found 11 more positive cases.