Stopping jail outbreaks of COVID-19 needs to be a priority, Etches says

Ottawa's medical officer of health says preventing another COVID-19 outbreak inside Ontario jails needs to be a priority due to the large population of inmates, as well as limits on how to isolate those who become sick.

Dr. Vera Etches sent aletterMonday to Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Joneswhere she referenced challenges while managing a COVID-19 outbreak once a jail is exposed.

Etches sent the letter the same day a month-long outbreak ended at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre.

Ottawa Public Healthreported36 inmates and five staff members at the jail tested positive for the virus, which forced alockdown, advocates say.

"The impact [of the outbreak] goes far beyond just those who contract COVID," Ottawa lawyer Erin Moorestold the city's board of healthmeeting Monday night.

"The entire institution was on lockdown for weeks. When we say lockdown, we mean torturous conditions and we're not using that word lightly."

Mooresdetailed how callers to the jail hotline said they wereconfined to their cells for more than 23 hours a day with no access to the yard, fresh air programs, visits orin some instances, reading materials.

More can be done to prevent COVID-19 at Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, OPH says

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Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawas medical officer of health, has sent the provinces solicitor general a list of recommendations for preventing outbreaks at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. At least five staff members and 36 inmates tested positive in the latest outbreak at the jail.

Etches acknowledged thoseproblems facing inmates during a lockdown and wants to find an alternative way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 inside jails.

The same issues have come up inside long-term care homes during outbreaks.

"When someone is in confinement, alone, for 23hours, that can't be good for health," she said

"This is a hard downside that we've seen in this pandemic and where we need to really learn about how to engage people and find other ways to make that more humane."

Rapid testing needed in jails, Etches says

In the letter, Etches made three specific recommendations. One of those encouragedthe province to implement rapid testing as soon as possible for inmates before transferring them between facilities.

"We appreciate that the province is presently rolling this out as a pilot, however we believe this should be considered a best practice," the letter states.

The letter also suggests each jail across the province should have "sufficient capacity" for inmates to allow them to quarantine for a 14-day period when being admitted to the jail or when an outbreak occurs.

Finally, Etches recommends provincial facilities establish best practices to determine how many inmates and staff are vaccinated weekly.

Justin Pich, a criminology professor at the University of Ottawa, spoke to CBC earlier this month about the lack of trust and information he believes has been behind the low vaccine uptake among inmates at the Ottawa jail.

He also questioned why vaccinations were offered to inmates weeks after jail staff.

Etches said Monday the jail was not among the list of high-risk institutions with vaccine priority when there was limited supply. She also said the solicitor general directed staff to be immunized before inmates.