14 COVID cases confirmed at Tower Street correctional centre

The Department of Correctional Services is reporting that 14 new positive COVID-19 cases were recorded at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre within the last 24 hours.

Of the new cases, two are staff members and 12 are inmates.

“This development in the institution has occurred despite our rollout of protocols established by international bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other benchmark corrective organisations versed in the management of outbreaks within correctional institution. These infection prevention and control protocols have been in effect across the department for well over six months,” said Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Matthew Samuda, in a statement.

Samuda indicated that the department would be revisiting its tracking measures given the situation and release results of the COVID-19 tests immediately rather than by its twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Thursdays) modality on the dashboard on its website.

The department confirmed that, per public health guidelines, all the positive test cases are placed in isolation and contact tracing and line listing activities are conducted to curtail the spread in the institution.

Samuda also advised that, “The department has been consultative in its approach to controlling the cases in the institutions, collaborating with the health ministry and public health departments to conduct testing programmes in centres once any positive cases are detected. We recently met with the public defender as well to ventilate existing measures at the facilities and seek counsel on what other measures she considered would aid us in our management of the pandemic.” 

The department says the positive cases recorded in correctional centres thus far have been largely asymptomatic, however, the agency says it is mindful that changes in the nature of these cases remain a real possibility.

Director of Medical Services in the Department, Dr Donna-Michelle Royer-Powe stated that, “With Jamaica at the stage of community spread and many persons being asymptomatic, our responsibility as medical professionals within the correctional service has become much more preemptive in nature, it simply means that we take nothing for granted.”

“In September alone, testing for COVID-19 saw almost 300 persons inclusive of correctional staff and inmates being swabbed, the last one being at the Tower Street Adult where we swabbed over 100 persons,” she concluded.

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