57 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Maryland Corrections facilities

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services reports a total of 57 confirmed cases of COVID-19 within its system.

Below is a breakdown of those infected.

· 10 inmates

· 22 correctional officers

· 3 Division of Parole and Probation employees

· 19 contractual staff

· 1 clinical health employee

· 2 Office of the Secretary employees

On April 3, staff in all correctional facilities were required to begin wearing additional protective gear.

The department says each correctional employee has been provided a face shield, glove, and a sneeze guard/protective face mask or surgical mask.

Maryland Correctional Enterprises began making equipment several weeks ago, and to date has made the following gear.

· 12,000 sneeze guards (protective face mask)
· 10,000 plastic face shields
· 1400 gowns
· 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer

Every inmate in the system is in the process of receiving a sneeze guard (protective face mask).

Inmates in quarantine or isolation, due to suspected or confirmed exposure to COVID-19, are provided surgical masks for the protection of themselves and others.

The department has been collaborating with the Army Corps of Engineers to construct 10-person medical tents at Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown (MCI-H) and Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI), with possible other locations to prepare for a possible influx of cases.

In a statement Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said the following:

"When we first asked the Governor to take action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in corrections facilities, nobody there had the virus. Now 57 people have the virus. More than two weeks ago, my office provided the Governor with a plan that was signed onto by criminal justice and public health experts from across the state. To date, the Governor has yet to respond to that plan nor come up with his own.

Instead, he has expressed that, “they’re safer where they are,” a comment as heartless as it is false. People both in and out of those facilities, correctional officers, health and service workers, contractors, and inmates could die because our Governor doesn’t have a plan for our correctional facilities. We have seen bi-partisan governors in California, Ohio, New Mexico, and Kentucky take swift and decisive action to safely release those who are incarcerated. In Maryland, the silence from the Governor’s mansion pertaining to a plan of action for those incarcerated is deafening, and now we are seeing the consequences of this inaction.

Since this crisis began, my office has been able to reduce the city’s pre-trial population by almost 10 percent; however, the power and discretion that the Governor yields to reduce the overall prison population in the interest of public health is far greater and essential now more than ever.”

Another Hagerstown corrections facility may be modified if needed, the department says.

The following is a summary of the confirmed COVID-19 cases for correctional facilities: