Chickenpox Outbreak Forces Lockdown At Maximum-Security Prison

CHESTER, Ill. (AP) — A southern Illinois maximum-security state prison is in lockdown because five inmates in one housing unit have developed chickenpox.

Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Tom Shaer told the Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers Thursday that three cases of chickenpox at the Menard Correctional Center have been resolved.

He says two other prisoners at the lockup near Chester are in isolation.

Shaer says it's unclear how long the lockdown will be in effect. He adds that, as a precaution, the prison has halted transferring inmates.

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