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A measles outbreak that has shuttered the Eloy, Arizona, federal immigration court and restricted movement at the neighboring detention center is being fueled by detention center staff who are refusing to provide proof of vaccination or get themselves vaccinated against the virus.

When measles cases started surfacing at the Eloy Detention Center last spring, Pinal County health officials made two requests of staff, said county health department Director Thomas Schryer.

"One was for the detainees to become vaccinated. They all agreed to do that, so they are immune and are not passing the disease amongst each other, and the other was for the staff to either be vaccinated or provide proof of immunity," Schryer said. "However, probably about 40 percent of the staff have not done that, and what we’re seeing today and the reason we’re seeing cases out of that facility is because the staff are passing measles amongst each other and unfortunately they’re going out into the community so we expect to see more cases from those exposures."

Schryer said workers are refusing vaccination requests and employers are trying to convince them otherwise.

The Corrections Corporation of America operates the Eloy Detention Center under contract with the United States government.

"The vast majority of CCA employees have received vaccinations or shown proof of prior immunity," said CCA spokesman Jonathan Burns. "There do remain a small number of CCA employees who are in the process of locating proof of prior immunity. After consultation with public health officials, that small number of employees is being required by facility leadership to wear surgical masks while on site until proof of immunity has been verified."

That mandate, Burns said, only applies to CCA employees. He said a substantial number of ICE employees also work at the facility.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson declined to be interviewed but in an email said, “ICE employees who work at the Eloy Detention Center are not required to receive measles immunizations as a condition of employment.”

ICE spokeswoman Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe declined to discuss whether ICE employees working at Eloy are refusing vaccinations, citing federal medical confidentiality rules.

Hearings were supposed to begin again at the immigration court after they were temporarily suspended in May. But a new measles case found Monday prompted federal immigration officials to keep the detention center restricted and the adjacent immigration court closed until July 14.

The new case brings the total number of measles cases in Arizona to 20.

Dr. Cara Christ is director of the Arizona Department of Health Services.

"We are also seeing staff and that’s the most current cases have been, they’ve been staff that have been working at the facility that have been exposed but they’ve gone out into the community," she said.

Christ said one difficulty facing health care workers is that people carry the measles virus four days before visible symptoms appear.

ICE spokeswoman Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe said there are currently 1,221 people held at the Eloy Detention Center.

She sent this statement about ICE's efforts to get the private prison employees to agree to vaccinations:

"ICE continues to work closely with state and county health officials to monitor detainees and employees at the Eloy Detention Facility in the wake of the recent measles outbreak. In consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and local health authorities, ICE has instituted numerous measures to prevent further spread of the disease. Medical staff with the ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC), aided by the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Pinal County Health Department, have administered measles vaccinations to the detainees. The agency also provided measles immunizations to facility employees who could not establish they had prior immunity and requested to be vaccinated. Detention staff were also referred to the Eloy and Casa Grande clinics nearby for vaccinations. Flyers and educational pamphlets detailing the dangers of measles and vaccination information have been provided to detainees and staff at the facility. Finally, detention center employees who requested additional personal protective equipment while on duty were provided with disposable masks and gloves."

Updated 6/30/2016 at 5:17 p.m.