Staff shortages prompt inmate transfer as COVID-19 outbreak at North Bay Jail worsens
The Ministry of The Solicitor General issued a media release Saturday afternoon confirming that approx. 30 per cent of staff at the North Bay Jail are currently self-isolating due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
In the release, a media relations official said the ministry has taken the unusual step of disclosing information about staff absences in this instance due to what it called "erroneous local media reports."
"The ministry is cautious about providing details on staff absences at provincial correctional facilities for security reasons," wrote a ministry media official in the release.
"However, because of erroneous local media reports, the ministry feels compelled to confirm that approximately 30 per cent of North Bay Jail (NBJ) staff are currently self-isolating at home related to the current outbreak at the facility."
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit declared an outbreak at the jail on Dec.29 but on Tues, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union confirmed there were 40 active cases among inmates and staff.
According to the Health Unit website, that number had increased to 106 as of Friday afternoon. The jail has now taken steps to have the inmates transferred in order to maintian safety standards amidst the staff shortages.
"The ministry is coordinating the transfer of a portion of the current North Bay Jail inmate population to help mitigate the current staff absences and maintain the safety and security of those inmates that will remain at the facility," the release continued.
"Transferring NBJ inmates will also help prevent the risk of infection of COVID-19 at the facility and create additional capacity to manage close contact isolation requirements."
Original Published: Jan.12 - 7:14 p.m. EST
A COVID-19 outbreak at the North Bay Jail could have been avoided, according to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
OPSEU said Wednesday an inmate transfer to the North Bay Jail was a miscommunication and that the inmate could have made his court appearance over video call instead.
The inmate tested positive for COVID-19 less than 12 hours after arriving at the jail
“I’m going to assume that the ministry didn’t follow the policies they … themselves had made,” said OPSEU Local 616 president Roselle Greuter. “He shouldn’t have come to our place.”
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit declared an outbreak on Dec. 29 and there are currently 66 active cases. The jail, however, is still open.
“Nobody is hearing what we’re saying and that’s why it’s so frustrating,” said Greuter. “We have asked for a plan and we don’t get one.”
Greuter said many staff members are off sick with COVID-19 and therefore can't work, leaving a staffing shortage. OPSEU is calling on the province for help, including for N95 masks.
“This is a critical situation," she said. "We can’t run the jail. We don’t have the staff and this is just the beginning of it … Inmates are annoyed and we’re annoyed, but how do you sustain this?”
In a statement, the Ministry of the Solicitor General said it's not appropriate to address an individual case or address details of inmate transfers for security reasons.
“Each facility has its own pandemic plan in place, prepared in consultation with local public health partners,” said spokesperson Andrew Morrison.
“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 said since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been operational changes across all provincial correctional facilities.
Those changes include 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 and requiring temperature checks for staff and visitors.
The jail also experienced an outbreak last June when more than 40 inmates, staff and others tested positive for the virus. That outbreak ended in July.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.