Sault jail has a dozen confirmed COVID-19 cases

The Ministry of the Solicitor General has confirmed there are currently 12 cases of COVID-19 associated with the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre. 

In an email to SooToday Friday, ministry spokesperson Brent Ross said all newly-admitted inmates are screened and tested, with their consent, for COVID-19 before being housed in a separate area from the general population for 14 days. Inmates are tested again on the tenth day of the 14-day period. 

“Any inmate that tests positive for COVID-19 is placed on droplet and contact precautions and isolated from the rest of the inmate population while they receive appropriate medical care. The ministry works with local public health units to complete contact tracing and to determine isolation and testing requirements for high-risk close contacts,” 

The ministry has made operational changes throughout all provincial correctional facilities over the past year, including:

• Screening and testing all newly admitted inmates, with their consent
• Housing all newly admitted inmates in a separate area from the general population for 14 days
• Providing masks to inmates, if required
• Providing personal protective equipment for all staff
• Requiring all staff to wear a mask at all times while at the facility and eye protection, as necessary.
• Requiring visitors to wear masks at all times while at the facility
• Requiring temperature checks for staff and visitors
• Working with local public health units to test inmates and staff as appropriate.
• Increased cleaning measures

Ross told SooToday that it’s up to local public health authorities - in this case, Algoma Public Health - to determine case thresholds for a declared institutional outbreak.

More information on operational changes at Ontario’s correctional facilities in response to COVID-19 can be found here.