Two Saskatoon jail staff test positive for COVID-19

SASKATOON Two correctional officers have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Saskatoon provincial jail.

The union that represents the jail’s employees is calling for more transparent communication with staff and inmates on pandemic planning.

Bob Bymoen, president of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union (SGEU), said in an interview Friday that all information they have confirms that two correctional officers are ill with COVID-19. For privacy reasons, he could not provide further information about them.

The Saskatchewan government made the confirmation in a statement on Friday.

It said the two employees have been told by public health officials to self-isolate at home and the corrections ministry is working with public health to determine who may have come into contact with them, as well as determine further measures.

The government statement said no inmates have been confirmed to have COVID -19.

Earlier this week, a corrections ministry spokesman confirmed that two units at the Saskatoon jail were under a COVID -19 related quarantine.

The government’s Friday statement said one unit is now under quarantine.

A remand inmate, “Ziggy” Johnston, said the inmates learned on Saturday that one correctional officer had tested positive for COVID -19, but then they learned late Thursday about the second one.

He and Benjamin Kedoin, another inmate at the jail, said they learned about the second positive test from an officer who told them and others on the Echo 3 range.

“I thanked him. I said, ‘You know, we’re in this together. I’m not against you ’cause you’re a guard, this is important for all of us,’ ” Kedoin said.

The fact two guards have contracted the virus is particularly concerning to the men because of their ability to move freely around the jail and because of what their duties entail.

“Everything that we get comes through the guards’ hands, whether it be meals or toilet paper,” he said.

Johnston said the back-andforth of being on and then off quarantine has put many inmates on edge as people are desperately hoping to get out or get sentenced.

“It just sucks,” he said. “I want to get sentenced, or I want to get bail, or, I want something to be happening.”

Bymoen said correctional staff have been working closely within the correctional centres with occupational health and safety committees and the union has been in contact with the ministry about Covid-19-related measures.

The union wants increased COVID-19 testing of inmates, staff and deputy sheriffs, and immediate provision of personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves for corrections and court staff.

Bymoen noted that corrections has been a “hot topic” when it comes to COVID -19 safety, adding the jails have been overcrowded.

He acknowledged the ministry has been working to resolve issues, but said there are times he wished it was happening faster.

He said he can’t stress how important it is for management of the correctional centres to be transparent with staff, including what plans are being developed for COVID -19. That will “go a long way,” he said.

“They want to be there, but they want to try to keep themselves safe as they can, but they also want to try to keep their families safe and their communities safe while they’re doing this,” Bymoen said.

“All these concerns and issues have been raised with the ministry and the government and we’re hoping that they can come out with a pandemic plan that meets as many of those needs as possible for the staff and the inmates and also for the families of the staff and inmates and the public as well.”