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Union for corrections officers asks state to lockdown prisons, halt transfers

3 min read
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WAYNESBURG – The union representing the state prison system’s corrections officers are asking for a lockdown at all Department of Corrections facilities and temporarily halting inmate transfers as coronavirus cases surge across Pennsylvania and in the jails.

John Eckenrode, western region vice president for the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, in a letter last week to Gov. Tom Wolf, said the staff is exhausted and many are working overtime because of the number of corrections officers infected by COVID-19.

“Our system is on the verge of being overcome,” Eckenrode said. “Mass testing is being done at some state prisons, but there’s concern in the DOC over the accuracy of the tests. Right now, lockdowns and pausing transfers are the best way to help protect corrections officers, staff and inmates.”

Across the entire state prison system, 6,652 tests have been administered to DOC workers with 1,910 positives results and 552 tests pending, according to state records. There are 190 staff member who currently have the disease, and two have died, although both of those deaths were in the eastern part of the state.

At SCI-Greene near Waynesburg, 316 staff members have been tested with 93 positives, including nine active cases. At SCI-Fayette in LaBelle, 171 staff members have been tested with 52 positives and 15 active cases.

“Our members need relief,” Eckenrode said.

Nearly 58,000 inmates have been tested across the state with 8,050 positive results. Although 2,454 of them already recovered from the virus, nearly 5,600 inmates still have the disease and more than 16,000 tests are still pending.

“COVID-19 has been a challenge for correctional systems across America,” DOC spokeswoman Maria Bivens said. “Proactive and aggressive measures that focus on prevention, rapid response, as well as a population reduction strategy to both gain space and limit resource exhaustion will be required moving forward.”

But one mother of an inmate at SCI-Greene, who asked that she and her 51-year-old son not be identified, said she’s worried not enough is being done to keep the prison population safe.

“I feel vehemently that someone needs to address the (subject) of several inmates not coming home due to negligence to test the officers and new inmates,” she said.

Across the state, 51 inmates have died from COVID-19, including one each at Greene and Fayette.

There are 69 active cases for inmates at SCI-Greene out of 109 total positive tests, along with another 770 tests pending, according to state statistics. At Fayette, there are six active cases out of 15 positive tests, but another 295 tests awaiting results.

“It makes little sense to continue to allow for open and free movement within our prisons as the virus continues to spread,” Eckenrode said of the inmates. “It makes even less sense to allow for potentially sick inmates to be transferred to different prisons. We believe this is contributing to the increased COVID-19 illnesses among our members.”

Bivens said the DOC has decreased its prison population by 6,000 inmates since March and used it as an opportunity to “reorganize and reset our system.” They’ve also isolated and quarantined sick inmates, and reduced the “cohort size” of prisoners who are allowed to congregate out of their cells in a common area at the same time.

She added that they have a “sound transfer protocol in place” to ensure the coronavirus is not spread through introducing new inmates to a facility.

“We test inmates for COVID-19 prior to transfer. No one is moved unless they test negative,” she said. “Once moved, the inmates are immediately quarantined for 14 days and then tested again. We take the safety and health of our staff and inmates very seriously.”

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