Report: FCI Danbury still sees cases, delayed COVID testing
DANBURY — Conditions at the federal prison in the city appear to have improved little, despite legislators’ demands last week for an investigation into allegations that the facility failed to follow COVID-19 isolation guidelines, according to allegations by staff and a lawyer involved in a lawsuit against the prison.
Infections are still high, with around 80 men — some allegedly at higher risk — remaining relocated in the Federal Correctional Institution Danbury’s auditorium, and staff are still not being provided appropriate personal protective equipment, according to Sarah Russell, director of the Legal Clinic at Quinnipiac University School of Law and a Quinnipiac law professor.
In a 1,500-word emailed statement to Hearst Connecticut Media sent in response to the allegations, the Bureau of Prisons said, in part, that the agency follows CDC guidance, “the same as community doctors and hospitals, with regard to quarantine and medical isolation procedures, along with providing appropriate treatment.”
The agency also said it is “using critical testing tools to help mitigate the spread of the virus and continues to provide testing for COVID-19 symptomatic inmates, as well as mass testing or serial testing when indicated.”
The BOP reports the number of active COVID cases has declined to 64 on Thursday, compared to 89 last week, but the attorney who has been communicating with the incarcerated individuals questions the validity of those numbers.
The facility is a low security federal correctional institution with a low security satellite prison and a minimum security satellite camp.
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., sent a letter Jan. 4 to the U.S. attorney general, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and acting warden at FCI Danbury regarding “highly disturbing” reports that half of the women housed in a satellite camp had tested positive for COVID-19 and isolation guidelines weren’t followed.
At the time, the Bureau of Prisons declined to confirm nor deny the specific allegations, and to date, the agency has not sent a response to the letter, according to Blumenthal’s office.
Incarcerated individuals who test positive for COVID or have symptoms are “medically isolated and provided medical care until they are considered recovered by medical staff” as determined by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, the BOP said.
“All institutions, to include FCI Danbury, have areas identified for quarantine and medical isolation,” the bureau said. “Inmates are treated at the institution unless medical staff determine they require hospitalization.”
On Wednesday, a week after the letter was sent, facility administrators declared an emergency, activating their crisis team, according to Shaun Boylan, executive vice president with AFGE Local 1661 and employee at FCI Danbury.
There have also been more positive COVID-19 cases reported at the women’s facility since last week, according to Russell.
Men in five units and the auditorium told her that unit-wide testing has not occurred since Jan. 5 or 6, she said.
There are also accusations of delays between reports of symptoms and testing, and delays in the isolation of people who have symptoms. Some people reported to Russell that they had not been tested after bunk mates tested positive.
“Without regular unitwide testing it is difficult to determine the scope of the outbreak and to respond to it appropriately,” Russell said in an email to Hearst Connecticut.
The BOP uses PCR testing for the “bulk” of its testing, but FCI Danbury also uses rapid tests that provide results in to 10 to 15 minutes, the bureau said.
Initial reports last week reported that 80 men were being held in an auditorium after their units were turned into isolation units. This is still the case, Russell said.
Many of the men allegedly came from Unit M, which is a unit that houses people with special vulnerabilities, like the elderly, those with disabilities, or veterans with PTSD, Russell said. While reports suggest there are
sufficient cots for everyone in the auditorium now, Russell reported that conditions are “very crowded” with cots only two feet away from each other.
The auditorium allegedly has no smoke detectors or fire alarm pull stations. Communication for incarcerated people housed there is limited.
Staff concerns
Inside, staff still aren’t being given appropriate personal protective equipment and are being asked to re-use their PPE, according to Boylan.
Russell also reported this shortage and alleged that staff sometimes enter units without masks on.
“Since the onset of the pandemic, the BOP, including FCI Danbury, has maintained an ample supply of PPE and is utilizing them in accordance with CDC guidance,” the BOP said.
The staff shortage is still causing issues, as well. Boylan reported that six staff members are being moved from various positions — from education programming, to drug assistance, to recreation specialties — to fill in as correctional officers due to staff
shortages. This duty change comes with different hours and responsibilities. Staff not employed as correctional officers are asked to take on a role and draw on a two to three-week training that for many, occurred years ago, he said.
“All staff assigned to correctional facilities are law enforcement officers and are considered correctional workers first, regardless of their occupation,” the BOP said. “All staff receive the same amount of training as correctional workers and are informed at the time of hiring they are expected to perform law enforcement functions during routine and non-routine situations.”
The agency confirmed that some staff members have taken on temporary security roles at some correctional institutions to fulfill the agency’s “commitment to public safety.”
Boylan previously reported to Hearst Connecticut that staffing shortages also leave workers showing up to work sick, bringing COVID into the facility with them.
The union protested in December, calling on Congress to take measures to address the staffing problems.
COVID cases
Since the outbreak’s initial peak last week, the Bureau of Prisons COVID-19 dashboard has shown a gradual decline in cases at the facility. The facility now ranks 33rd in infections among federal prisons nationwide, compared to fifth last week.
On Thursday, the dashboard showed FCI Danbury had 64 active cases among its population, with 11 staff positive cases.
But Russell said she does not know what criteria the agency is using to remove someone from the count, and whether it is based on a five-day point from initially testing positive or another measure.
While she does not have a precise count, one woman told her that they estimated 12 people tested positive in the women’s facility during this latest outbreak.
“People incarcerated at FCI Danbury are incredibly scared,” said Kylee Verrill, law student intern with the Legal Clinic at Quinnipiac University School of Law. “To have people subject to such dangerous conditions two years into the pandemic represents a massive institutional failure.”