Inmates await test results at Brampton jail after 3 correctional officers test positive for COVID-19

A small, freezing room. A bed and a metal toilet. Nothing to do or watch, not even a pen and paper. Not being allowed to leave for 24 hours and counting.

This is self-quarantine in jail.

Donivan Comeau is waiting for his COVID-19 test results in a cell in the segregation unit at the Ontario Correctional Institute, a jail in Brampton that is designed to provide treatment for substance abuse and sexual offending.

He was put in segregation - where inmates are sent as punishment for breaking the rules - because he was found on Thursday to have a fever of 38.3. He said he also has "really bad chills," headaches and sometimes has trouble breathing at night.

An outbreak was declared at the jail by Peel Public Health on Thursday after three correctional officers who worked at the jail tested positive for COVID-19 and would have been contagious while at work.

Rush testing was ordered for several inmates - the exact number tested at the jail has not been released - and inmates were put in "medical isolation" as required, according to Peel Public Health and the province.

The results of the tests have not yet been released.

"We came here for help. We don't want to re-offend ever again," said Comeau, who has nine months left of his sentence for a robbery conviction and is being treated for alcohol addiction.

Now he and the other inmates at the treatment jail are worried about how far the virus has spread among the population of about 140 men - especially since there are some elderly inmates and one who is HIV-positive and immuno-compromised.

They say this could have been prevented if correctional officers had been routinely wearing masks and gloves, and if more precautions had been taken. Inmates had continued to eat in the cafeteria together until Wednesday.

"We should be treated like regular humans. I admitted to what I did. Should I be afraid of getting sick and dying because they are not doing their jobs?" Comeau said.

He said he is claustrophobic and has anxiety. The longer he spends in his cell, the worse it gets.

He's being treated with Tylenol for his symptoms. He doesn't know what will happen if his symptoms get worse but he isn't confident he will get the medical treatment he needs. He doesn't know how long he'll have to stay in segregation.

"It's scary. They are not telling us anything," he said. It is hard to accept he has no control over what happens next.

"I just cannot believe," he said, pausing then sighing in disbelief that it took an outbreak for stricter safety measures to be imposed.

Comeau said there were a couple of men on his unit who had been showing symptoms before him and he attempted to distance himself. But within the unit, and in a shared dormitory-style sleeping room with beds only a few feet apart, it was impossible. The inmates are not permitted to wear masks or gloves, and hand sanitizer is for staff use only, he said.

Inmates who spoke to the Star said they are doing their best to keep their living spaces clean and that they have been provided disinfectant. Inmates are responsible for cleaning their own units but this is not enforced or scheduled, they said.

Inmates said they had their temperature and pulse checked on Thursday and Friday and inmates who had fevers and other symptoms were taken to segregation. Staff conducting the checks wore masks, gloves, face shields and safety goggles, inmates said.

On Thursday a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor-General said steps are being implemented to prevent the spread of the virus. These include conducting temperature checks on both inmates and staff, as well as carrying out enhanced cleaning, providing hand-sanitizer stations for staff, and making personal personal protective equipment, including masks, available to staff.

Correctional officers at the jail had previously complained about limited access to personal protective equipment and of being told they could not wear masks they brought from home. On Thursday, their local union representative said that officers were being given personal protective equipment to wear when needed.

According to the province, 231 inmates have been tested so far in jails across Ontario. Results are pending in 54 cases. There have been four positive tests so far for inmates, three at the Toronto South Detention Centre and one at Monteith Correctional Complex. The Monteith case is no longer active. The status of the cases at Toronto South remain unclear.

A total of five correctional officers have tested positive, including the three at the Ontario Correctional Institute.

Alyshah Hasham is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and court. She can be reached at ahasham@thestar.ca. Follow her on Twitter: @alysanmati