Headingley women’s jail hit by COVID outbreak

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This article was published 18/08/2022 (1174 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Women’s Correctional Centre in Headingley has been placed on COVID-19 outbreak status after more than a dozen inmates tested positive.

“All units are impacted,” Public Health said in a message forwarded Tuesday night to Manitoba Prosecution Service staff, Legal Aid Manitoba and the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba.

“Inmates that had previously been positive are now placed in other units within the centre and therefore we are now considering all the inmate population to be asymptomatic on top of those inmates that are positive and those who are currently symptomatic,” the message said.

The jail has a rated capacity of 196 inmates. All correctional staff and inmates at the jail are being required to wear medical-grade masks and all inmate visits have been suspended.

Inmate transfers to other correctional centres are “on hold,” and new arrivals will be held for a minimum of 10 days “pending further review,” Public Health said.

Lawyers can still visit the jail to interview their clients, and inmates who have tested negative for the virus will be transported to court for their hearings.

“The court is monitoring the situation and if court appearances are affected, video technology and telephones will be used where appropriate,” a provincial spokesperson said in an email Wednesday.

By late Wednesday afternoon, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at the jail had risen to 15, all of them inmates, the spokesperson said.

“All correctional facilities have a number of safety protocols in place to address the spread, including regular cleaning and a supply of PPE to staff and inmates,” the spokesperson said.

Lawyers are being allowed freer access to their clients than during past lockdowns, said Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba president Gerri Wiebe.

“Before we couldn’t see anyone,” Wiebe said. “It sounds like they are trying to find ways for (lawyers and their clients) to participate where possible.”

Jail inmates, many of them from vulnerable sectors of the community, may be more likely to contract the virus than the general population, said defence lawyer association director of communications Chris Gamby.

“We don’t know what the vaccination rate is,” Gamby said. “They may be under-vaccinated, which may lead to more serious outcomes.”

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca