CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — From zero cases of COVID-19 to 260 this week at St. Brides Correctional Center in Chesapeake, according to a Department of Corrections database.
That’s nearly 23 percent of the inmate population at the medium security men’s prison.
No deaths have been reported, but that’s little solace for friends and relatives on the outside.
“With the rise in cases as fast as it was, something has failed,” said an imate’s relative, who did not want to be identified. The inmate, younger than 40, just tested positive for COVID-19 at St. Brides. Officials say 15 staff members are also infected with the virus.
“What access do they have to proper healthcare?” the relative asked. “What if one of them were to need a ventilator immediately?”
The Department of Corrections told 10 On Your Side they treat symptoms as they arise, similar to any primary care setting. They can provide many treatments including on-site oxygen. Inmates needing an inpatient level of care would go to the hospital.
Teneka Mebane’s friend is an inmate and she’s wondering what’s going on with the governor’s COVID-19 early release program.
“(Mebane’s friend is) definitely afraid that he’s not gonna make it home to his daughter,” she said.
The DOC says more than 550 state inmates have been released so far from prisons and jails.
“If you only got five months left, and imagine you’re scared that you may not make it home to your children,” Mebane said.
Mebane says her friend is especially worried that shared items including showers, microwave ovens and phones aren’t being properly sanitized.
A prison spokesman says the response plan includes scheduled cleaning of the housing units including common use items.
Meanwhile, family members are stressing the need for humane treatment.
“They were sentenced to serve time for a crime they committed, but they were not sentenced to serve time unsafely,” the unidentified relative said.
The Department of Corrections says a large portion of the total number of COVID-19 cases — 275 — includes those who are pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic. It says those individuals can be silent transmitters of the virus.
We asked if there were air scrubbers or any kind of enhanced ventilation for rooms where there are large groups of infected inmates, and a spokesman responded that “St. Brides CC is equipped with air conditioning in the housing units.”
The DOC says “all offenders and staff are required to wear appropriate [personal protective equipment] at all times, including medical-grade PPE, such as N95 masks, when appropriate. Virginia Correctional Enterprises manufactures both utility face masks and cleaning supplies approved by the EPA for use in combating the coronavirus, so there is no shortage of either in the facilities.”
