BOURNE – Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings said they continue to have no cases of coronavirus among inmates at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne.
The facility is one of nine run by county sheriffs in Massachusetts that have reported no cases of the virus since the outbreak began.
There are 13 such facilities across the state.
“Our big concern initially was not allowing the virus to get inside the jail because we knew once it got in there we would have problems containing it and so far so good,” said Cummings.
“We’ve been successful at keeping it out of the correctional facility, not a single inmate has come down with the virus and every day we keep it out of here we are a day closer, I hope, to ending this and getting back to some kind of normal operations.”
The facility has a full time nursing staff that includes a doctor and mental health professionals.
“They’ve done a great job for us thus far,” said Cummings.
He added that his office is following the protocols set by the CDC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the facility is taking precautions to ensure the safety of the inmates and staff.
Currently the correctional facility is only allowing one inmate per cell.
They are also locked down and no visitors are allowed.
Inmates are being allowed to make free phone calls to family members and loved ones.
In special cases, the facility is allowing for visitations through video conference calls.
Contractors who perform maintenance on the facility are also not being allowed on the property.
According to Cummings, any staff member who comes into the building has their temperature taken and if they have a fever they are sent home.
Any new inmate who is sent to the correctional facility will have to stay in a special housing unit for 14 days before they can be mixed into the population of the facility.
Because the courts are currently closed and law enforcement has been focused on combating the virus, the correctional facility has not seen a lot of new inmates since the pandemic began.
The facility is also keeping a second housing unit empty in case an inmate does test positive for the virus.
Very little testing has been done at the facility but Cummings said there has not been a reason to do so.
“We haven’t had any cases or inmates that have tested positive or been symptomatic so we’ve done very little testing and we probably won’t do any unless there’s a reason,” said Cummings.
Last month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that select inmates could be released because of the spread of the virus.
Since the ruling was handed down, 17 Barnstable County inmates have been discharged from the facility.
Cummings said that while he did not have a problem with some of the inmates, such as those awaiting trial on bail, being released, he did have an issue with the proposal overall.
“As far as people who are sentenced, I have a problem with that,” said Cummings.
“The court thought whatever they did deserved that they be sentenced to jail. They’re here for a reason and I think we should keep them here.”
He noted that releasing inmates with no programs in place could lead to numerous issues and that a lot of inmates would not have a place to go upon release.
Programs that allow inmates to work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to pick up litter on state highways have been shut down because of the pandemic.
Cummings said that work is being done at the state level to get the program started again.
When the pandemic began, getting personal protective equipment to the facility was an issue.
However more recently, PPE has been trickling in for staff.
The Barnstable County Correctional Facility was also able to receive some PPE made by inmates at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow.
Though the correctional facility has had to adjust, Cummings said his dedicated staff has made things a lot easier.
“The camaraderie has been very good, the staff works great together,” Cummings Said.
“Everything has worked out well, and again that goes back to the professionalism of the staff to be able to deal with the inmates during a difficult situation like this and keep everyone happy.”
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
