An ill Benton inmate is in isolation. Jail is still waiting for a coronavirus test kit

A Benton County inmate has been isolated for two days as corrections staff wait to test him for novel coronavirus.

The inmate reported to jail staff earlier this week that he felt sick with flu-like symptoms.

He immediately was moved to a cell that vents to the outside, said Scott Souza, Benton County corrections chief. The jail uses the same kind of isolation if an inmate has tuberculosis.

Word of the potentially ill patient was included in an emergency order by Pasco Municipal Court Judge Craig Stilwill, who cited growing concerns locally about the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to change court operations to reduce potential spread.

“Within the last 48 hours, an incarcerated person in the Benton County Corrections Center is suspected of the virus and is being tested,” said Stilwill’s administrative order.

While the order says the inmate is being tested, Souza told the Tri-City Herald on Wednesday that is not correct.

For now, the medical staff at the jail can’t be certain if he has COVID-19 because they don’t have access to testing kits. The kits have been ordered through the department’s medical provider, but it’s been a slow process.

The Washington state Department of Health said last Friday there has been a shortage of testing kits. While the department said the crunch has eased some since then, it hasn’t improved much.

“We acknowledge that although the laboratory test is becoming more broadly available, there are limitations in our public health and healthcare systems’ capacity to obtain samples from people as rapidly as we would like,” the department said in its latest reports.

Corrections facilities across the state are closely watching inmates and staff in an effort to keep out the virus and avoid its rapid spread.

The Yakima County jail on Wednesday reported three male inmates have been quarantined and also are awaiting testing after developing coughs. None of them reported or exhibited the key symptoms associated with COVID-19, but as a precaution the remaining inmates in their dormitory unit have been quarantined.

And the Washington state Department of Corrections reported a third employee has tested positive. The employee, who works at the Peninsula Work Release in Port Orchard, has been out of the office since March 5 and got the positive results Sunday.

There are no confirmed cases involving inmates in the state system, the department reported.

Changes to jail visits

Jail staff in both Benton and Franklin counties began preparing for a possible outbreak weeks before Gov. Jay Inslee and local government officials started taking emergency action.

“We’re acutely aware of what the problem is. As of right now, today, we have no known cases inside the jail,” Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond told the Herald on Wednesday. “We have some people with the regular, old flu who are isolated like they would be any other day of the week.”

Raymond said modifications in his facility include having a nurse in the booking area to do enhanced assessments of new people entering the jail, providing extra gloves and masks to corrections officers for personal protection and a more thorough cleaning everywhere inside.

“If you walk into the jail today, it reminds me of being a kid when mom used to clean with Mr. Clean — that smell,” said Raymond. “We’re doing the extra scrubbing down and all those types of things.”

The Franklin jail has capacity for just over 300 and typically averages 200, but current numbers are down to about 170. Most cells hold two people. The medical unit and maximum security have single-inmate cells.

Raymond said the population reduction is due in part to county jails and the state Department of Corrections restricting the movement of inmates to different facilities.

Benton jail staff trained with the Benton-Franklin Health District after officials there helped with an inmate who has Hepatitis A. Staff went over how the coronavirus is spread, what the symptoms look like that and how to keep themselves and others safe.

They also increased disinfecting surfaces around the facility and made sure that corrections staff had eye protection, masks and other personal protective equipment.

The Benton jail temporarily suspended video visitations from the lobby. But all inmates have been authorized four, free Skype visits per week. People wanting to log into the system can go to the corrections department website for instructions.

Additionally, the corrections department is no longer allowing volunteers inside the facility, both to reduce potential exposure and to keep others safe.

Franklin County for now is still allowing weekend visitations inside the jail with video machine kiosks, but is reducing the number to three visitors at a time and will be cleaning in between each group. Inmates also have Skype privileges during the week.

Civil liberties

On Wednesday, the national American Civil Liberties Union and 14 of its affiliates called for the release of certain state and county prisoners to prevent a public health crisis.

The ACLU said the release should include those with a sentence ending in the next two years who fall under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines as vulnerable to the coronavirus.

The ACLU says governors also should grant commutations to those in prison who have less than a year left on their sentence and anyone being held on a technical supervision violation.

As for county and city jails, inmates awaiting trial and locked up because they can’t afford cash bail should be released, according to the ACLU’s news release.

The exception is “the very few cases where pretrial detention is absolutely the least restrictive means necessary to ensure a person’s return to court.”

“Public health experts recognize that there is a heightened risk of infection for people who are involved in the criminal legal system, and that downsizing the footprint of the criminal legal system should be a part of the COVID-19 public health response,” Udi Ofer, director of the ACLU’s Justice Division, said in the news release.

Jail sentence vs virus sentence

In Spokane County, dozens of people were released from two facilities Monday following an emergency order by a Spokane Municipal Court judge that aims to alleviate crowding and prevent spread of the virus, The Spokesman-Review reported.

Detention services officials had urged judges, police and prosecutors to “consider all mechanisms” for reducing the jail population during the pandemic, according to the story.

The 48 people set free were incarcerated for “low level” offenses and were either awaiting trial or serving sentences, The Spokesman-Review reported. Those who still had time left on their jail sentences will be expected to complete the terms at a later date.

“The way you’ve got to look at it is: Is committing a misdemeanor worth getting a sentence of the COVID virus?” said Spokane Municipal Court Administrator Howard Delaney.

As for Franklin County, Sheriff Raymond said he will not be releasing any inmates without a judge’s order.

“If you think about it, you can’t be more contained than a jail. If someone comes up with the coronavirus inside the jail, the most they’re going to be exposing is their fellow bunkmates. And they will be moved and isolated within the jail,” said Raymond. “If you release them, are you going to kick them to the street where they can get coronavirus?”

This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 12:50 PM.