Inmates set fire after learning of first case of COVID-19 at Harnett Correctional Institution

A prisoner at Harnett Correctional Institution tested positive over the weekend for the novel coronavirus, and other inmates set a small fire after learning of the result, a Department of Public Safety spokesman said.

"Offenders set some clothing on fire in a dormitory trash can around noon ... The fire was quickly put out. No one was injured," said John Bull, communications officer for North Carolina's prison system.

The COVID-19-positive inmate was transferred to the hospital at Central Prison, where he will be treated in isolation, Bull said.

More than 100 other inmates who may have come in contact with the infected inmate will also be under a 14-day medical quarantine, and his living area was thoroughly disinfected.