THUNDER BAY — Seven weeks after an outbreak of COVID-19 was declared at the Thunder Bay District Jail, the efforts to bring the situation under control have borne fruit.
That's both good news and bad news for Bill Hayes, president of the OPSEU local that represents correctional staff at the jail.
Once the outbreak is officially declared over, he's worried the jail's cells will become overcrowded again.
In an interview Tuesday, Hayes said there are now only two active cases of COVID-19 among the inmate population, and just three among staff.
Hayes was anticipating that two of the staff cases would be declared resolved later in the day.
"We're starting to see a lot of cases resolving now, and thankfully not too many new ones popping up. We're definitely excited to see this drop in numbers. We're ready to get out of this as soon as possible. It's been going on too long," he said.
According to Hayes, about one-third of the 120 jail staff became infected during the course of the outbreak.
He said a key factor in bringing it under control was a significant decline in the number of inmates housed at the facility.
When the pandemic was declared last March, there were more than 180 inmates in the jail, but on Tuesday the figure was down to 71.
Hayes said having fewer inmates has made it easier to prevent the further spread of the virus.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General arranged for the transfer of inmates to other Ontario institutions, something he said OPSEU wished had happened much sooner.
Now he's concerned, Hayes said, that the jail will start filling up again.
"That's a big concern. As soon as the outbreak's done, I'm sure the places that have helped us out will start sending our inmates back. Then we're also looking at the courthouse reopening again, so they'll probably want to start seeing people in person, so that may cause us more issues."
The COVID-19 outbreak at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre on the opposite side of the city was declared over on Saturday.
It began on Jan. 6, the same day the jail outbreak was declared.
