As of Thursday, there were 13 active COVID cases among staff at Pine Grove and 10 active inmate cases. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Corrections and COVID

Union says better PPE needed at province’s jails to protect staff

Jan 27, 2022 | 5:36 PM

A spokesperson for the union representing provincial correctional officers, says the facilities represent a subset of our society, and so whatever is happening in society is happening in there, although more rapidly due to the close quarters.

Verne Larson, Legal Inspection and Regulatory Component Chair with the Saskatchewan Government Employees Union (SGEU), is responding to a recent surge in COVID cases at the province’s jails.

As of Thursday at 2:30 p.m., there were 23 positive cases among staff at the Prince Albert Correctional, and 83 inmates. At Saskatoon Correctional, there’s 20 staff impacted and 39 offenders. Larson explained with so many people off, overtime is ramping up and people are getting burnt out.

“As you can see with Prince Albert Correctional, and how many people are off, well that means they’ve gotta find that many people to fill those spaces if they can,” he said.

Larson explained one of the union’s biggest concerns with respect to the current situation and the safety of staff, related to the provision of PPE and a protocol that requires them to double mask.

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“We really feel why don’t they just give them the proper N95s like other people get,” Larson said.

With respect to getting staff vaccinated, and the need to have a vaccination passport to go to work, Larson said there may have been a bit of a push back at the beginning, but added once people knew the boundaries, the process worked out okay.

The latest COVID numbers at the province’s jails as of Thursday. (Ministry of Corrections)

Response from government

According to a statement from the Ministry of Corrections, a wide variety of measures have been implemented to address the pandemic, including Rapid testing for all staff, PCR and rapid testing for all inmates, and enhanced cleaning.

The Ministry also explained testing and screening of all inmates for COVID-19 is completed upon admission and again after 15 days. Inmates are also tested if they are symptomatic, are identified as requiring testing due to contact tracing, or being moved to a reduced custody setting. New admissions are also quarantined for 14 days.

“Nursing staff are continually monitoring inmates for symptoms during their regular rounds. Inmates are also urged on an ongoing basis to inform staff if they are experiencing any symptoms,” the statement said.

Continuous masking remains in place for inmates and staff across all provincial correctional facilities. Temporary structures have also been set up at the Regina Correctional Centre and Saskatoon Correctional Centre to better manage the inmate population.

In-person visits have been suspended although inmates are still able to communicate with friends, family and professionals virtually or over the phone.

In addition to staff and contractors being required to double-mask, all inmates must also when outside their cells.

The Ministry added staff will be provided with and encouraged to use take-home rapid test kits.

With respect to federal institutions, which are overseen by Correctional Service Canada, as of Jan. 25 there was one active inmate case at Sask. Pen (medium security), and one inmate case at the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell