Another Florida prison becomes a COVID-19 hot spot. Non-symptomatic inmates relocated
After the number of inmates with COVID-19 at Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach soared from seven to 38 Saturday, healthy inmates at Tomoka were being transported to Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City, where there are so far no inmates who have tested positive for the illness, family members say.
As of Saturday evening, 85 inmates and 78 staff members had tested positive for COVID-19. Four inmates had died, all of whom had been incarcerated at Blackwater River Correctional Facility, a compound near Pensacola run under contract by the Geo Group. The medical examiner in Santa Rosa County revealed the deaths.
Later Saturday, the FDC issued a news release about the new cases at Tomoka, noting that everyone with symptoms is being tested and isolated, and all inmates have been given masks and are being monitored by medical staff.
Symptoms for COVID-19, however, exhibit themselves only around a week after contraction of the coronavirus, making it near impossible to tell if a person is carrying the virus or not without testing them.
Leah Elliot, whose 51-year-old husband Randy is serving a life sentence at Tomoka, said she was not given notice that he was being moved until he had the chance to call her Saturday afternoon.
He told her he and roughly 150 others were told to bring their electronic tablets and a change of clothes.
“We as families do appreciate what they are doing . . . but man they’ve just got to be more transparent,” Leah Elliot said. “Just tell us what you’ve got to do.”
Elliot heard from people who have loved ones at Columbia Correctional Institutions in Lake City that two dorms there had been cleared out. Roughly 150 people from Tomoka “are being taken out,” she said.
Elliot, whose husband has heart issues, worries about the medical care inmates are receiving as the virus spreads through the system.
“I’ve cried for two days because they don’t get proper medical care,” he said. “I know if he gets it being the age that he’s at, the odds are going to be against him surviving.”
A friend of another inmate at Tomoka said he was moved as well.
Prisons have become a coronavirus hot spot in several states. Until late last week, and amid heightening criticism from lawmakers and others, the FDC had refused to reveal the degree to which it was testing inmates, the results of those tests, and whether specific prisons had become hot spots. After the first inmate deaths were confirmed by the Santa Rosa County Medical Examiner’s Office, the department relented and began divulging new details.
The numbers posted Saturday show the state has tested 339 prisoners, a fraction of approximately 95,000 inmates in the system. The FDC listed 138 negative test results and 116 “pending.”
At least 92 inmates who have confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 have been put in “medical isolation” in hopes of preventing them from transmitting the virus to fellow inmates. Forty-five of those in medical isolation are at Tomoka and Blackwater River.
According to the FDC, inmates who are transferred enter what is called a “security quarantine,” meaning they are monitored by medical staff.
Kevin Ring, director of FAMM, which stands for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, although the group has expanded its focus beyond that, said while moving seemingly healthy inmates from a facility is a good idea, “more transparency would have helped ease concerns.”
“The country and state are doing things differently in this time, but then seem to rely on old rules when it comes to prisons,” he said. “There is no reason these families couldn’t have been given notice. Families are already on edge.”
At Columbia, inmates and staff alike have been speaking about the transfer “all day.”
One woman whose husband is incarcerated at Columbia, said “everyone knows about the outbreak at Tomoka,” and that they worry about what the transferred inmates may be carrying.
The woman, who the Herald agreed not to name because she fears her husband could face reprisals, said “everybody’s been on pins and needles all day today.”
At first, inmates had the impression that the extra cleaning and preparing being done this week was an in-house step to ensure the wellness of those who lived and worked at Columbia. Now, they fear what is to come.
“All these [incoming] inmates have not been tested,” she said. “They don’t meet the criteria. There could be several among them who [have COVID-19 but] are asymptomatic.”
A woman with a loved one at Tomoka said her friend was not transferred from the facility, but told her two busloads of men had been taken from the compound.
During a phone conversation Saturday evening, he said he knew very little about what was happening aside from the fact that he wasn’t being moved.
The woman, who the Herald agreed not to name due to concerns about her friend’s safety, said the lack of information has inmates, friends and families on edge.
“There’s a lot of anxiety,” she said.
This story was originally published April 19, 2020 at 8:00 AM.
