Department of Corrections monitoring pandemic status, outbreak management

WALLA WALLA—Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) has been diligently changing policies to safeguard employees and incarcerated individuals against the COVID-19 virus.

In Walla Walla, The Washington State Penitentiary has had 134 incarcerated individuals test positive for the coronavirus with zero deaths. Twelve staff members have tested positive. The outbreak was contained in one housing unit, and the facility continues to test all staff coming into the penitentiary, as well as regular tests for incarcerated individuals and testing and quarantine for all intakes. As of Friday, Washington State Department of Corrections had 4,972 tests completed for incarcerated individuals housed in prison and work release settings. As a whole, the department has had 449 positive tests.

Data from The Marshall Project shows Washington ranks number 35 in the nation for percent of incarcerated individuals who tested positive for the coronavirus.

“We are doing okay,” said DOC State Secretary Stephen Sinclair. “We always want to do better, but this is where we stack up against the national data.” The Marshall Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S criminal justice system.

Transferring incarcerated individuals between facilities has been significantly reduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic. By law, the department of corrections must continue to accept transfers into their jurisdiction.

“We still have individuals that are coming in from county jails,” said Arminda Miller, of Unified Command. “We still need to manage that population.” Miller went on to say that the department has received clinical review to determine if transfers are appropriate and when they are inappropriate.

Miller also said that the DOC is still honoring classification promotions, utilizing all screening and safety precautions when transferring classification transfers. ‘Classification’ refers to the custody level that an incarcerated person requires. Individuals can promote based on a number of factors, including behavior and time.

“If someone promotes from maximum custody to medium custody, that is their right. They’ve done what they needed to do to promote,” Janelle Guthrie, Communication Director. “If they need to move to a different facility, we carefully screen and test before that process.” DOC classification transfers are contingent on resource availability, and if the individual were to test positive, they would remain at their current facility until safe to transfer.

Staff is required to participate in daily screening upon entering the facility, as well as wearing a face covering, frequent hand sanitizing, and distancing when appropriate. Personal protective equipment requirements differ from facility to facility, depending on outbreak status. Contact tracing is utilized for both staff and incarcerated individuals in the event of an outbreak.

Visitation has been restricted to legal visits only across Washington State, with exact restrictions varying slightly from facility to facility. Secretary Sinclair said that the DOC is exploring options for future visitation, even outdoors. One of the biggest obstacles, according to Sinclair, is creating a space safe enough to visit without spreading the virus.

The Department of Corrections will continue to update policies around staff and the incarcerated population’s safety and health. Up to date information on case counts, testing and policies can be found at http://www.doc.wa.gov/corrections/covid-19/default.htm.