THUNDER BAY — The president of the OPSEU local at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre is among the staff there who have recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Shawn Bradshaw is in isolation after receiving the test results last Friday.
"I've been worse. I've been better. Symptom-wise, I haven't had anything too bad yet," Bradshaw said in an interview Tuesday.
"It's actually gone quite slowly through the correctional officer population. That's because the COs are doing everything they can to stay safe," Bradshaw said.
Despite all the precautions, a group of correctional officers are now off work.
"These people are going in and working in a room that's full of COVID-positive inmates...the longer you are in, the more likely it is you are going to get exposed," Bradshaw said.
He said even wearing full personal protective equipment doesn't ensure safety.
"I consider myself good at following the protocol, but I got it. You touch one surface, and you don't really think about it, and all of a sudden you're giving it to yourself. It's going to happen."
Bradshaw said he will return to his job as soon as he tests negative and gets clearance.
The Ministry of Correctional Services reported Tuesday evening that there were 12 active COVID-19 cases involving correctional centre staff.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit on Wednesday morning reported two new cases at the correctional centre, but the health unit does not disclose whether cases involve staff or inmates.
As recently as last Sunday, the ministry's website showed there were 45 active cases involving inmates. However, the latest published data shows only eight cases.
At the site of another large, ongoing outbreak – the district jail – the TBDHU on Wednesday also reported two new COVID-19 cases.
The government website shows 22 active cases involving inmates there.
OPSEU local president Bill Hayes said there are 12 active cases among the correctional staff.
Although staffing has been compromised by the number of officers off work, Hayes said the inmate count has fallen to 82, which makes it much easier to manage the outbreak among the inmate population.
"This is what we've been asking for for months, and since the outbreak started. They got the count down originally but it kept creeping up. Then COVID hit us. With 82, we can move some bodies around and contain it. We just need to get it out of here first," Hayes said.
He said this is the jail's smallest inmate population in years.
The outbreaks at the jail and correctional centre were both declared on Jan. 6.
At the Southbridge Roseview long-term care home, where 23 residents died during the worst COVID-19 outbreak in Northern Ontario, for the second straight day there are no active cases involving either residents or staff.
The outbreak was declared on Nov. 17, 2020.
Provincial guidelines state that an outbreak cannot be declared over unless there are no new cases for a period of 14 days after the date of isolation of the last resident case, the date of illness onset of the last resident case, or the date of the last shift at work for the last staff case.
The TBDHU on Wednesday announced that the COVID-19 outbreak declared on Jan. 24 at Brain Injury Services of Northern Ontario's (BISNO) Cumberland Place in Thunder Bay is now over.
Two outbreaks declared on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 in units of the Hogarth Riverview Manor long-term care home remain in effect.
