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.

Kareen Troitino, the FCI Miami corrections officer union president, told ABC News that the virus was spread by one employee to inmates at the facility and, within a day, Troitino said that cases at the facility went from one to four. A few days later, Troitino said there was an “enormous spike” in three of the units at the facility. “Inmates complaining of extreme fatigue. Cold like symptoms. Strange headaches, they’ve never experienced a very strong, vomiting, diarrhea, but no one is showing a fever, and the administration decided to do a 21-day lockdown,” he said.

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


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10 thoughts on “Frightening number of Coronavirus cases in Florida prisons

  • July 18, 2020

    Goes to show that Florida has very little care about its inmate population.

    Reply
  • July 17, 2020

    Sounds planned !

    Reply
  • July 17, 2020

    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!

    Reply
  • July 17, 2020

    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.

    Reply
  • July 17, 2020

    “Covid comes from outside, and since there has been no visitation in months, inmates have caught it from staff.” Exactly!

    Reply
  • July 17, 2020

    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.

    Reply

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