NEW ORLEANS - A COVID-19 outbreak has reportedly occurred within the juvenile detention center for Orleans Parish.

According to WWL's Radio.com, the City of New Orleans confirmed Friday (Dec. 11) that 20 individuals with ties to the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Out of the 20, eight are juvenile detainees and 12 are staff workers.

The city says none of the juveniles tested displayed any of the symptoms typically associated with COVID-19, and they add that testing remains ongoing.

“Immediately following notification of the positive cases, all proper protocols have been followed according to state and local COVID-19 guidelines,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s office said in a statement released Friday. “Families of the youth as well as attorneys have been notified accordingly and updated as each case evolves.”

The outbreak was reported on the same day federal authorities authorized the emergency distribution of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine, however, has yet to be approved as safe for individuals under the age of 16.