COVID in New Orleans Prison, Louisiana Prison Rise to Highest Omicron Phase | Coronavirus

The New Orleans Prison The Louisiana Prison System has reported a significant COVID-19 outbreak in both staff and detainees this week, the most since the surge associated with the Omicron variant of coronavirus began in late 2021. Cases have been reported.

On Monday, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office reported that 95 detainees in prison were positive for the virus, as well as 68 employees, accounting for about 11 percent of the prison population. This is an increase from 24 detainees and 49 employees two weeks ago.

Across Louisiana prisons, 425 prisoners and 212 staff were positive for the virus. According to the Public Security Bureau, there were 24 prisoners and 150 staff last week.

The biggest outbreak among prisoners Louisiana Women’s Orthodontic Institute 100 cases have been reported in St. Gabriel. Allen Orthodontic Center It was just behind at 93 on Kinder. Dixon Orthodontic Institute Seventy-five prisoners were reported in Jackson, and 72 were reported at Homer’s David Wade Correction Center.

The current surge in prisons and prisons in New Orleans is significantly greater than what happened during the wave of incidents related to the Delta variant last summer. Neither agency reports the number of hospitalizations or deaths associated with the virus.

It is also unclear which agency is dealing with the staff shortage caused by hundreds of security guards currently infected with COVID. New Orleans prisons and the Louisiana prison system suffered serious staffing problems prior to the recent surge in incidents. In April, the proponents reported that the Public Security Corrections Bureau did not have more than 400 security guard positions and the vacancy rate was over 35%. The Orleans Sheriff’s office has more than 100 vacancies, and prison staff shortages have been repeatedly raised by federal prison guards who say guard posts are frequently vacant.

The Public Security Corrections Bureau did not answer multiple questions from Lens regarding staffing and whether the surge in employees affected prison operations. It is also unclear what the current quarantine guidelines are for staff infected with COVID.

Earlier this month, the ministry suspended all state prison visits for the third time since the pandemic began.

The biggest outbreak among prison staff Louisiana State Prison In Angola, which accounts for more than 70 of the current cases.

In addition to direct lawyer visits, New Orleans prisons have also suspended visitor and volunteer access to the prison, requiring full access to clients from Orleans official advocates. It is urging criticism.

But on Thursday, Danny Engelberg, head of the public defender’s trial, also urged the sheriff’s office to step up COVID precautions in prisons.

“As we saw at the beginning of the pandemic, prisons and prisons are the tinderboxes of community spread and deadly infections, both in prisons and throughout the community,” Engelberg said. “We urge sheriffs to strengthen Covid’s precautions and start booster activities immediately.”

More than half of prison inmates are vaccinated, the sheriff’s office says. However, in late December, Times Picayune reported that no booster shots were given. This will reduce the likelihood of infection and the severity of the disease associated with the Omicron variant, health officials say. One of the detainees told the newspaper that he requested a booster and would receive it the following week. The sheriff’s office did not respond to the lens’s request for a booster shot update.

Employees of the sheriff’s office must be vaccinated. This does not apply to the Public Security Bureau, where vaccination is voluntary for employees. During the summer, a spokesman for the ministry said staff vaccination rates were around 50% and prisoner vaccination rates were over 70%. The department did not respond to the request for the updated number this week and did not provide information on whether the prisoners were provided with booster shots.