Over 300 Miami jail inmates now have coronavirus; judge rips conditions but declines releases
A group of ‘medically vulnerable’ inmates at the Metro West Detention Center filed a federal lawsuit asking to be released because of the COVID-19 crisis.
More than 300 MiamiDade jail inmates have now tested positive for the novel coronavirus, sources confirmed Thursday as a federal judge criticized conditions behind bars but declined to order anyone released.
The dramatic statistic is the result of expanded testing, and comes amid an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by a group of inmates seeking their release over fears of the highly contagious virus.
U.S. Kathleen Williams, in an order issued late Wednesday, wouldn’t go that far. After two days of telephone hearings, she agreed that inmates at the Metro West Detention Center, with its tight sleeping quarters and shoulderto-shoulder lines for headcounts, “are not able to achieve meaningful social distancing and that the experts agree social distancing is a critical step in preventing or flattening the rate of contagion.”
Instead, Williams ordered a 45-day extension of an earlier order requiring that inmates get soap, cleaning supplies and masks and that efforts be made to ensure social distancing. While she wouldn’t order anyone released, Williams said the jails need an “urgent reduction in the population … and increased screening for COVID-19 among the staff and inmates.”
In her order, the judge left open the possibility that she could order the release of inmates at a later date. Miami-Dade County has already filed documents saying it intends to appeal her ruling.
The judge also ordered that Miami-Dade corrections provide updates every three days on how many Metro West inmates and staff members have been tested, and how many have contracted the virus. During the pandemic, the MiamiDade corrections department has issued only sporadic public information on inmate testing, unlike the state prison system, which has maintained a daily update on its website.
In state and federal prisons and jails across Florida and the United States, authorities have struggled to contain the outbreak among inmates while trying to balance their release and the safety of the public. More than 300 inmates have tested positive across all three Miami-Dade jails, one source said, but the number is expected to rise dramatically as a new round of test results returns over the weekend.
In Florida state prisons, over 200 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, and five have died. Testing, however, remains limited.
Still, a group of “medically vulnerable” inmates at the Metro West Detention Center filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month asking to be released because of the COVID-19 crisis. The suit was filed by civil rights groups, the Dream Defenders, Advancement Project National Office, Community Justice Project and Civil Rights Corps, and GST LLP.
Numerous wings at the jail have been quarantined, as at least 163 inmates there have been quarantined.
One inmate told the Miami Herald by phone that he started a hunger strike to protest conditions at the jail, and a group of fellow inmates presented a petition to jailers demanding they improve protective measures.
UM EXPANDS CUTS
The University of Miami stands to lose “hundreds of millions of dollars over the coming year” due to the financial havoc wreaked by the novel coronavirus, according to an email sent this week by President Julio Frenk to the Canes community.
“COVID-19 has taken many thousands of lives, hundreds right here in our community,” he said. “Compounding that loss, we are facing a significant economic disruption.”
To help offset the projected losses of closing campus this spring and summer and possibly the fall, Frenk said his administration will expand budget cuts announced earlier this month and implement new measures, including pay reductions for top officials, and the suspension of meritbased salary raises and of UM contributions to employee retirement plans.
Additionally, Frenk warned that the private university is considering layoffs and furloughs: “A reduction in workforce may become unavoidable,” he said.
Megan M. Ondrizek, a university spokeswoman, said she could not provide details regarding Frenk’s message.
Frenk didn’t specify in his Tuesday email how many high-ranking workers would see their compensation drop by 15% beginning Friday, or how long the pay cuts would last. But he said the list includes himself, the provost, chief operating officer, senior vice presidents, vice presidents, deans and similar positions in the university’s healthcare system, UHealth.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, UM paid Frenk, a public health expert, about $1.5 million in 2017.
Human Resources will also reach out to everyone whose compensation falls in the top 1% and ask them to voluntarily give up 10% of it, he said.
Starting June 1 and through fiscal year 2021, UM will stop its contributions, both core and matching, to employee 403(b) retirement plans. The university also paused meritbased raises through fiscal year 2021.
This week, Frenk extended the hiring freeze to the Medical campus as well and said it applied to for all positions except those “deemed mission-critical” by the university’s healthcare system, UHealth. He said budget centers would further cut costs on travel, entertainment, outside services, consulting, conferences and meetings.
The university is also delaying planned construction projects until 2022, tapping into unrestricted donor funds and expanding its freshman class from about 2,200 to 2,350, according to the April 7 email.
UM is issuing prorated refunds for Spring 2020 fees and services “that cannot be provided in an online or virtual format” like housing, dining, parking, student center, wellness center, health and counseling, student activities, and athletics fees. But it has received backlash for not returning money for the swap from in-person instruction to remote learning.
VIRUS CASES
Florida saw a small increase in new reported coronavirus cases and deaths as daily testing numbers continue to see a steady decline. Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday morning confirmed 497 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 33,690.
Of the new reported cases, 136 are in MiamiDade, which has a total of 12,063 known cases.
Health officials also announced 50 new deaths statewide, bringing the death toll to 1,268. Of the 50 new deaths, 25 were from South Florida.
Fourteen people died in Miami-Dade County, bringing the county’s death count to 352 — Florida’s highest death toll. In Broward, three people died, raising its death count to 185. Palm Beach County reported eight new deaths, bringing the county’s toll to 186.
The three counties make up for more than half of the known COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state.
The number of deaths being reported by the state Department of Health may be incomplete as the list of coronavirus deaths being compiled by Florida’s medical examiners has shown the death count was as much as 10 percent higher than what the Florida Department of Health has released
MORE VIRUS NEWS
The Fisher Island Club announced the results Thursday of its straw poll of members on whether to accept a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan: 67% voted for the club to take the loan, while 33% voted for the club to assess each member $5,000 to cover any operating deficits.
And yet three days after seeking their input, the club won’t follow the will of its members. Instead, the club’s board of directors said in an email, it will reject the loan, citing recently issued guidance by the federal government about the requirement for businesses to certify that they need the money.
Although it would be “quite appropriate” for the club to take the funds as long as it kept all of its employees on payroll, the email said, “we have carefully reviewed these new guidelines with our legal counsel and accountants and decided that the Club should not accept the PPP funds.”
On Monday, the club suggested to members that it stood to lose “many, many millions in revenue” after closing its hotel, restaurants, marina, golf, tennis and spa facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the loan or the $5,000 assessment per member, the club said it would likely lay off workers.
Now, it’s not clear what the club will do next.
During the first day back at parks and marinas in Miami Beach since the coronavirus pandemic shut down open spaces countywide, not everyone followed the rules.
Miami Beach police reported that 652 people were issued warnings Wednesday for not wearing face masks while at the city’s newly reopened recreational spaces. Additionally, 145 people were removed from parks after closing time, and 23 social distance warnings were issued.
City Manager Jimmy Morales, who authorized the city to ease its shutdown measures in compliance with a county order, called it a “very challenging day one” and said he would consider closing back down if residents do not follow the new rules.
Jean Monestime, the county commissioner who hoped to turn his focus on Miami-Dade’s prosperity gap into a grass-roots run for mayor in 2020, said Thursday the economic hardship brought on by the coronavirus crisis made it too difficult for him to stay in the race.
“A large segment of the constituency I depend on for this campaign is amongst the hardest hit,” he wrote in a statement announcing his withdrawal from a race he joined in October. “Many of them are now laid off and uninsured. Some are either ill, hospitalized or worry about a sick family member, while others continue to mourn the death of loved ones.”
Monestime, a Democrat, was one of four sitting commissioners running to succeed a term-limited Carlos Gimenez, a Republican who is running for Congress. He trailed the other major candidates in fundraising with less than four months to go before the Aug. 18 primary for the race.
Monestime