Detention centre outbreak affects 60 inmates and staff

Posted By KARENA WALTER Karena Walter

Posted 5 days ago

Visiting hours are suspended and in-person court appearances cancelled as officials deal with an outbreak of illness at Niagara Detention Centre that’s affected a quarter of its population.

More than 60 inmates and a handful of staff have complained of symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea from the illness, which has yet to be identified.

Dr. Doug Sider, Niagara’s associate medical officer of health, said it’s suspected to be the norovirus, which is highly infectious and can spread easily in close confines.

The public health department hopes to have confirmation today or Friday.

The norovirus has given Niagara a challenging season so far, Sider said, affecting people in nursing homes and day-care centres.

But it’s more difficult to control a virus in a detention centre where people are sharing cells and isolation may be hard to achieve.

Sider said key steps in other settings are emphasizing hand hygiene, doing scrupulous cleaning of common surfaces and disinfecting bathrooms and common areas.

“Most importantly, you need to be able to isolate ill people and try as much as possible to make sure they’re not in direct contact with people who don’t have the infection,” Sider said.

“I can imagine it’s somewhat challenging to do in an environment such as a detention centre.”

Stuart McGetrick, spokesman for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, said the illness spread through the institution. It seemed to subsiding by Wednesday, when only 10 people were complaining of symptoms.

The centre has no space for isolating large numbers of people, but has taken steps to stop the spread, he said.

They have stopped moving inmates between units and suspended visits. In-person court appearances have been replaced by video links.

“We’re just taking precautions to limit the spread of this bug, to let it run its course as quickly as possible,” McGetrick said.

The public health department was called on Monday to work with the detention centre on prevention and control measures.

On Saturday, the jail had a six-hour standoff sparked by prisoners demanding another inmate be taken to hospital for flu-like symptoms. Health-care staff at the facility examined the inmate and decided outside medical attention wasn’t needed.

Sider said symptoms of the norovirus — if that is what it is — can last 24 hours to several days. He said an outbreak can last from a few days up to two weeks.

The virus is not usually associated with complications. It’s treated with lots of fluids and careful diet.

The outbreak was affecting proceedings at the St. Catharines courthouse Wednesday. When lawyer Donald Wolfe asked in morning video court that his client be brought in person to the courthouse for a bail hearing, he was told it wasn’t going to happen.

“Apparently, no prisoners are allowed to leave the detention centre at this moment,” justice of the peace Robert Leggate told him.

Another lawyer, Geoffrey Hadfield, assured his client by video that delays in his case were out of his hands.

“The place is shut down for three days because of illness, not because of me.”

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