Frightening number of Coronavirus cases in Florida prisons
Union officials at Federal Correctional Complex Coleman and Federal Correctional Institution Miami sounded the alarm on just how bad the conditions are inside the facilities.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, 91 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 at FCI Miami. SOURCE
A prison in rural North Florida has seen the number of inmates diagnosed with COVID-19 explode, with more than 400 prisoners reported testing positive for the virus.
This past Sunday, 30 inmates at Columbia Correctional Institution had tested positive for the deadly respiratory disease, according to a Florida Department of Corrections report. By Thursday, the number had soared to 442 prisoners, as the virus continued to show that it can move rapidly through Florida’s prison system. SOURCE
FCI Coleman Low is considered protective custody for sex offenders— about 700 out of a total population of about 2,000 there.
BOP reports 12 cases among the staff there and 65 cases among the inmates. And BOP, like other corrections agencies, has been accused of undercounting, or of discouraging testing.
Covid comes from outside, and since there has been no visitation in months, inmates have caught it from staff.
“Covid comes from outside, and since there has been no visitation in months, inmates have caught it from staff.” Exactly!
I just got an email from a friend in a Michigan prison today. They have required inmates and staff to wear masks for quite some time now. Randy tells me that many staff members don’t wear their masks like they are supposed to. The startling thing is that many of the health care workers there don’t wear masks either. If an inmate complains, they just laugh it off and say it’s okay. Guards are afraid of catching it for inmates, but we can be pretty sure that it is the staff members who are bringing the virus in from the outside, since visits were halted months ago.68 deaths in Michigan prisons from it so far.
Thankfully, the FLADOC’s Website, on the Home Page has a link to a chart that lists every Correctional Institution which clearly displays specific information to COVID-19
Unfortunately, we do not know the type of testing that is being done; We do not know what Labs are completing the results and how the results are really tabulated etc.
Since the FLADOC resumed NEW INTAKES in April 2020, it is possible that not only Staff are the hosts spreading the Virus but the New Inmates entering the system are as well!
We also know that Alcohol Based Sanitizers are Prohibited in Florida Correctional Institutes and MASKS cannot be worn as that would be a Security Hazard….So the inmates lay on their Bunks most of their days and have limited access to Recreation and Most visits to the Canteens have been Banned (some are getting a limited amount of Canteen, depending on the Institution) (Also, the amount of Weekly ‘Shakedowns’ have skyrocketed which allows for an even quicker spread of the Virus by Staff Members) ….They, do, however, get ‘Room Service’ daily as their meals are delivered to their Dorms
The Ventilation in most of these Dorms, Cells, etc are ancient-The Filters (which are not HEPA Type) never really get changed!
Most Inmates are ‘Sitting Ducks’ waiting to get killed by cross contamination by Staff Members at large!
Please Pray for the Health and Safety of These Men and Women!
Sounds planned !
Goes to show that Florida has very little care about its inmate population.
While my husband was placed in Apalachee Correctional Institution, East Unit, the dorm barber stepped forward to help him out and protect him from the gang members who targeted him because of his dementia. This dorm barber was recently transferred to Columbia Correctional Institution. He said he felt like he had died and gone to heaven. Today my husband and I received a letter from him. This is what he had to say:
“There are 3 dorms on restriction, mine being one. They took out around 9 inmates and around 13 staff. Nurses come around twice daily and take temperatures, and if one is 99.1 and above, they lock you up in confinement, whether you have symptoms or not. Really, it is a punitive measure for having a slight fever. They do no testing…or treatments. A person just sits in confinement…until you do not have a fever for 14 days. Punitive, I say.” No masks are worn.
We received another letter today from this same inmate, saying: “The officials here have absolutely no idea what to do regarding this COVID-19 business. If a person has a fever, they put them in confinement. They strip you and lock people in a cell. That makes no sense. Staff do not wear protection but will give an inmate a DR if they do not cover their face at all times. We have no CDC-approved masks, and we cannot get bleach to clean with.”
The Gainesville Sun today published one of our letters:
Prison outbreak
My husband and I received a letter recently from an inmate to whom we minister at Columbia Correctional Institution. There are currently well over 500 cases of COVID-19 at this prison.
These were the inmate’s words: “If a person has a fever, they put them in confinement. They strip people and lock them up in a cell. Staff does not wear protection. We cannot get bleach with which to clean.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a recent news conference there was no real concern in certain counties with spikes as they were mainly within the prisons. My takeaway was that he was content with the status quo.
Kudos to Sen. Jeff Brandes, who has called on DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet to take action. Would DeSantis be endangering society by placing an inmate, who was incarcerated for a technical violation, on house arrest with an ankle monitor?
As of yesterday, over 50% of all inmates at Columbia Correctional Institution now have tested positive.