Nearly 120 inmates at the Montreal Detention Center – commonly known as Bordeaux – are currently infected with COVID-19, more than 10% of the 1,100 people incarcerated in the prison at the moment.
This is indicated by statistics provided Tuesday to Press by the Quebec Ministry of Public Security.
A few days ago, the number of infected inmates climbed to 182 according to an internal memo from the prison director but this ceiling has started to drop.
The previous record number of inmates infected in Bordeaux dates back to last February with 129.
In addition to 118 inmates currently infected, 23 correctional officers and prison staff are also infected. Not to mention those who were sent back to home confinement, as a preventive measure.
The president of the Union des officers de la paix en services correctionnels du Québec, Mathieu Lavoie, is stunned by the speed with which COVID-19 has spread.
“During the weekend of December 12, we were at 37 cases and yesterday, eight days later, we were at 182. It hits us hard but what is worse is the speed with which the coronavirus spreads, ”describes Lavoie.
Hard hit
In its internal memo sent to employees and including Press obtained a copy, the director of the prison, Isabelle Mailloux, writes that the Montreal detention center is “severely affected” by the COVID-19 outbreak which is currently raging.
“The situation surrounding this fifth outbreak is therefore particularly difficult for everyone. The lack of personnel tends to increase and complicate the task of those who work directly with incarcerated persons ”, states the director in particular.
Mme Mailloux reminds employees that even during this holiday season, they are prohibited from gathering and sharing meals. Wearing a mask is compulsory and she also asks them to avoid unnecessary trips around the prison.
But Mathieu Lavoie fears the worst for the Holidays.
“There is a 25% shortage of staff across Quebec and those who work are exhausted. Only last year, at the Rivière-des-Prairies detention center, officers went from 56,000 to 88,000 overtime hours, ”he said.
The union is asking the Ministry of Public Security to re-impose measures put in place at the start of the pandemic and which were abandoned this summer following an intervention by the Ombudsperson and complaints from members of the families of detainees; mandatory 14-day confinement for new defendants arriving at a prison and the closure of areas where an outbreak occurs.
“From the moment a new detainee arrives, it spreads at a great speed. We will have to go back to the old protocol: isolate the sectors where there are positive cases and confine the new ones to avoid the propagation”, affirms Mr. Lavoie, who also demands that activities be reduced in prisons during the Holidays “to make up for the lack of personnel”.
Worried spouses
The ministry replies that several measures have been put in place such as massive screening, isolation in cells, the end of inter-establishment transfers, meals in cells, wearing of masks and the suspension of programs and activities.
He does not intend to reinstate the 14-day lockdown for new detainees and instead relies on an assessment, rapid screening test and appropriate preventive measures.
The current outbreak in Bordeaux began in sector C, one of the largest in the century-old prison with 180 places. This sector, and sector E, would currently be isolated.
The spouse of an inmate incarcerated at the Montreal Detention Center wrote to La Presse and deplored the conditions of her husband’s detention.
“The detainees in his sector are confined alone, in their cell, 24 hours a day, without the possibility of leaving. They are cut off from all human contact, except for the guards who bring them their meals directly to their cells. They are also deprived of showers ”.
“We are several women who have not received any news from our spouses since Thursday, despite our numerous calls to the Québec Ombudsman”.
“Our spouses may have committed crimes but they are human and still have rights. We just want these rights to be respected. We fear for their sanity, to be on our own, cut off from all human contact is cruel. Not hearing from our spouses is also a hardship for us, our children and our families, ”wrote this woman in particular.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, extension 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.