THUNDER BAY - Despite 50 positive cases of COVID-19 at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre, union officials say the outbreak is being managed, with few inmates showing symptoms and a low infection rate among staff.
“When you look at it, we are approximately 94 per cent inmate infection rate, but about three to four per cent staff rate,” said Shawn Bradshaw, president of OPSEU 708 for the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre. “When we talk about using PPE, I feel it’s working really well. Based on the way our institution operates, there’s a lot of opportunity for contamination between inmates and staff.”
An outbreak of COVID-19 was first declared at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre on Jan. 6. As of Wednesday, 48 inmates in the male dorms have tested positive and six staff members.
There is one new case in the female dorms but the inmate is isolated in the intake unit.
The majority of the male population has tested positive, with 48 cases and only three in an area who have not tested positive. According to Bradshaw, approximately 40 of the inmates who have tested positive are not showing any symptoms.
“The male side, unfortunately with our high contamination rate, its kind of a blessing and a curse at the same time,” he said. “Most of the inmates are not displaying symptoms and they are getting past it and that’s an interesting thing to watch as well.”
Bradshaw added that after some initial battles with management, primarily regarding personal protective equipment, staff are now receiving more appropriate PPE and there are no issues.
But staff are still making a lot of sacrifices in order to protect the health of the co-workers, inmates, and the community at large.
Many staff members are self-isolating in hotels or away from their families in order to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19.
“That’s not an easy thing to ask of anybody. These people are doing it and it’s very commendable,” Bradshaw said. “We take this very seriously and we take community safety very seriously and the inmates. We take everyone’s health very seriously.”
Bradshaw points to staff and inmates taking the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
“I encourage the inmates to wear their PPE and be cautious but also the staff to continue to do what we are doing. Clearly, we are doing something right. If anything can be taken from this, exercising proper PPE is being effective,” he said.
“These staff are doing everything they can and they are being very safe and when you look at our numbers, we have done really well at the Correctional Centre.”
But the Correctional Centre is not out of the woods yet and Bradshaw said more positive cases are expected.
Surveillance testing is done every five days by Superior North EMS. Inmates who show symptoms upon arrival are tested right away, while those who do not are tested after 10 days due to COVID-19’s incubation period. Test results are usually returned within one or two days.
“The male dorm at the Correctional Centre will get better in the next 10 to 15 days, which in reality isn’t a long period of time,” Bradshaw said.
“What we are going to see is probably a few more staff test positive over the next week or so. We are a very controlled environment in the way we take inmates in. Our biggest concern is the inmates and staff at the female dorm and at the jail.”
Bradshaw added that it’s important to remember the outbreak is not isolated to the Correctional Centre, as staff and inmates reentering the community can put others at risk, which is why it’s important for everyone to take the necessary steps to stop the spread of the virus.
“The way the judicial system works, these inmates are released eventually and steps are being taken to provide them the ability to self-isolate upon discharge,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we can only do what we can do and it falls to personal responsibility.”
