Questions remain about COVID testing at federal prisons as 2nd wave hits US

Days before Brandon Bernard was put to death Thursday at Federal Correctional Institute, Terre Haute, in Indiana, eight members of the execution team tested positive for COVID-19, according to a court filing intended to stop the execution.

"Specifically, six team members tested positive within approximately one week from their return home," Rick Winter, regional counsel for the Bureau of Prison's North Central region testified in court documents. "An additional two staff members tested positive more than one week after returning home."

Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union who brought the case were attempting to get all executions stopped because of the recent COVID-19 cases, but the court ultimately did not agree with them.

The outbreak among the execution staff represents a bigger problem inside the BOP as a second wave of COVID-19 ravages the United States.

Currently there are two facilities with over 600 cases of COVID-19 in inmates: FCI Englewood in Colorado and FCI Loretto in Pennsylvania.

At Loretto, 62% of all inmates at the facility tested positive, according to BOP data.

One BOP source at FCI Loretto, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told ABC News that the reason for the increase in cases is because they opened the facility for visitation "way too early."

The source also pointed to the lack of screening of inmates transferred to the facility -- adding the facility went from "hardly any positive inmates" to the most in the bureau.

Four other institutions have more than 250 inmates that have tested positive for COVID-19, according to BOP data.

In an email sent to staff last week, obtained by ABC News, Director Michael Carvajal said that because of the increase in testing of asymptomatic inmates, the numbers were bound to go up.

"Testing of asymptomatic inmates will greatly increase the number of positive tests reflected on the public website," the director wrote to staff.

In testimony earlier this month in front of the House Judiciary committee, Carvajal said that staff does not want to take COVID-19 tests.

"We can offer the testing, and in many places we've offered availability of 100% testing, people don't want to take it," he said during an exchange with Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif.

According to sources, the comment "outraged" staff, which has been frustrated with the lack of testing available to them and has had to go elsewhere for testing.

"I had a staff member yesterday who was possibly exposed to COVID-19 that they sent home and was told to find a place to go get tested," Tyrone Covington, the union president at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, explained. "So [the bureau] is not even giving you places where you can go get tested."

Covington told ABC News that their numbers are steadily increasing.

"I think four or five, over the last two weeks, of staff who have come back with positive test results," he told ABC News.

Covington said that "only select inmates are getting tested" and are only tested when someone they have direct contact with tests positive.

At Federal Medical Center Fort Worth, union President Gregory Watts told ABC News that his institution will be among the first to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

"I guess Fort Worth will be blessed to be one of the first institutions to get the vaccine for those who want it," Watts said.

When contacted by ABC News, the Bureau of Prisons said it would offer comment soon.