'It's horrifying': Physicians and lawyers say coronavirus outbreak at B.C. prison could have been prevented

Correctional ServiceCanada is now reporting 24cases of COVID-19 at the Mission Institution in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, as the medium-security prison continues itslockdown.

Three correctional officers at the prison have also testedpositive and are now isolating at home.

According to Sav Bains, a regional director of Health Services for CSC, one infected inmate from the Mission prison has now been transferred to theAbbotsfordRegionalHospital.

The manwas first taken tothePacific Regional Treatment Centre, a federal institutionin Abbotsford, B.C., that serves as a hospital for prisoners in the area. But the inmatewas moved again because he needsa ventilator and there aren't anyin the prison hospital or the Mission Institution.

Lawyers who work with inmates at the federalfacilitiessay the outbreak is concerning especially since CSC was only reporting twocases earlierthis week.

"I think it's horrifying," said Adrienne Smith, a Vancouver lawyer who has clients at the Mission prison.

"I think it willbe very difficult if not impossible to preventa broad outbreak at any of the correctional facilities in British Columbia," Smithadded.

The Mission Institution has conducted 43tests, with 18 pendingas of Friday.

'Will I make it out alive?'

Those who work in prisons say it's not enough andinmates are bracing for the worst.

"There's concern that 'I don't know if I will make it out alive,'" said Dr. John Farley, an infectious disease doctor who has worked with inmates at the Mission Institutionfor 12 years.

He says testing shouldbe done on those withCOVID-19 symptoms as well asasymptomatic inmates, correctional officers and nurses who work at the prison.

"Rigoroustesting could have been instituted much earlier," he said.

Farley says those in the federal prisonsystemare "extremely vulnerable,"with people over 50 accounting for 25 per cent of the population and some withHIV,hepatitis C, and other serious health conditions and addictions.

Correction Service Canada does not know how the first case came into the Mission prison.

Bains told CBC News that all inmates at Mission are now confined to their cells as staff try to contain the outbreak.

Inmates who show symptoms of COVID-19 are being tested and held on a separate range within the prison.

The CSC said it is continuing to suspend inmate visits, work releases for inmates and all inter-regional and international transfers, and has also suspended programming andnon-essential work and has implemented modified routines to limit comings and goings.

'Extremely worried'

The Mission prison's lockdown has advocates worried about the mental health ofinmates.

"We are not even getting calls from people at Mission anymore,"said Jennifer Metcalfe, theexecutive director ofWest Coast Prison Justice Society.

"The last call that we received came from a prisoner who said they are locked up all day, very little time out of the cell,if any," she said.

Her group organized an open letter signed by 100 medical professionals calling on the federal and provincial government to release prisonersto protect public health.

The letter readthat "the window to prevent the spread in correctional facilitiesis closing."

The signatories want governments to stop admitting people to jails and prisons unless absolutely necessary,to release as many people as possible, andto consider early or temporary release for people who have chronic health conditions or are age 50 or above.

While some provincial institutionsare releasinginmates in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19,federal prisons have yet to followsuit.

Bains said that could change, although hedid not have a specific timeline of when inmate releasescould happen.

PPE for correctional officers

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers says it is working toensure its members are supplied with protective gear while on thejob.

But for now, staff members will have one mask to use for twoshifts, the union says.

If a staff member has to be within two metres of a prisoner whohas been diagnosed with COVID-19, a range of protective materialwill be provided, the union said in an email.

The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU), whichrepresents 1,700 staff at provincial prisons, says it has heard arange of safety concerns from its members.

Provincial prison staff have expressed concerns about being ableto enforce social distancing protocols while working, as well as alack of hand sanitization, the union's president says.

"Our role, obviously, is to keep our members as safe as possiblebut also the inmate population safe as well, so yes, we're pushingfor better safety measures,'' said Stephanie Smith, president ofthe BCGEU.

Measures include Plexiglasbarriers at officer stations as wellas better screening of inmates, she added.