STATE JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER WORKERS CALL FOR MORE PRECAUTIONS

Hartford — Workers at Connecticut’s juvenile detention centers are calling on state judicial officials to improve precautions against the coronavirus, after employees and offenders tested positive for the new virus.

Leaders of unions representing about 3,500 employees of the Judicial Branch, which runs the juvenile detention centers in Hartford and Bridgeport, said workers need N95 masks, and they urged officials to work with union leadership on plans to better protect workers, youths and the public.

As of April 24, 17 workers at the Hartford and Bridgeport detention centers and eight juvenile offenders had tested positive for the coronavirus, union leaders said in a statement Wednesday. None has died.

“Our staff are doing their best to assist the juvenile population in their care; however, staff and clients are fearful,” the statement said. “Response efforts from the Branch remain insufficient and far too delayed in order to protect staff and juveniles in its custody from avoidable illness or worse.”

Judicial Branch officials said Thursday that they talked with the unions on Tuesday and believed concerns about personal protective equipment had been addressed.

“We thought it was a good conversation,” said Cathy Foley Geib, deputy director of juvenile residential services. “Given the nature of this pandemic ... I think the Branch has been doing an incredible job of protecting staff and the youth.”

Foley Geib said surgical masks are available for all staff and youth, but higher-level N95 masks are in short supply worldwide and are reserved for when staff have to care for sick youths in isolated units.

She said none of the 14 youths at the Hartford detention center and none of the 29 at the Bridgeport facility are currently sick. All the youths who tested positive were in Hartford, she said.

Officials said numerous precautions are being taken at the detention centers, including maintaining social distancing when possible, having staff and youth wear masks at all times and wash their hands frequently, and taking workers’ temperatures and asking them medical questions before each shift. – Associated Press