ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — As of Monday, nearly 4,000 of Florida’s state prison inmates were in medical quarantine because of COVID-19. Still, the department has given no indication it plans to start mass testing.
Four inmates’ deaths have already been linked to the virus that spreads like wildfire, particularly in large group settings. A prison makes for the perfect breeding ground.
Nearly half of all inmates who have tested positive are housed at Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach. The problem may be much worse, but we wouldn’t know because the Department of Corrections has only tested about 400 of the system’s 94,000 inmates. And a state lawmaker told 9 Investigates that he was told, so far, fewer than a dozen have received random tests.
Venessa Grullon is now pleading with Gov. Ron DeSantis to consider early release for her spouse and others like him who have underlying health conditions and are close to serving a majority of their sentences.
“Put him on house arrest, we don’t mind paying for the ankle monitor, at least he would be home,” Grullon told investigative reporter Daralene Jones. “When he calls me, he puts a sock over the phone because everyone uses that phone and those phones are not being wiped off after every use,” she said.
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He’s serving time inside of Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach for a violation of probation related to a 2006 vehicular homicide charge.
At Tomoka, as of April 27, 84 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, the most of any state prison and another 10 employees. Sumter prison in Bushnell has had 47 inmates test positive, along with five employees, which is the second highest in the state.
“I believe there’s a crisis happening in DOC he virus is spreading rapidly,” Sen. Randolph Bracy of Ocoee said. He believes strongly, like some of his other Democratic lawmakers that testing needs to be expanded inside of prisons, but the governor hasn’t pushed the issue, at least publicly.
“When the governor is looking at who needs to get tested, the incarcerated are not at the top of his list, but the incarcerated are people and it’s our responsibility to make sure they’re not going to die,” Representative Anna Eskamani told Jones.
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As of April 27th, more than 3,795 inmates were in medical quarantine. One thousand are housed at Tomoka, another 800 at Sumter.
According to the Department of Corrections medical quarantine refers to the number of inmates who have been separated because they may have had close contact with a person who has tested positive or exhibited symptoms of an infectious illness, to determine whether they develop symptoms.
All inmates in medical quarantine are monitored by health services staff and receive temperature checks twice a day for signs of fever. If an inmate begins experiencing symptoms indicative of COVID-19, FDC will place the inmate in medical isolation and immediately engage the county health department.
“You have the potential for state workers, corrections officers who have to come home and may expose people on the outside, too, so this is a crisis we need to pay attention to,” Bracy said.
DOC told us it’s increased cleaning and inmates and officers now have masks, something that didn’t happen until last week. And the department didn’t start publishing data on COVID-19 cases until media outlets pushed for it.
A spokesperson referred us to the agency’s website when we asked questions specific to this story. It states: FDC’s testing priorities closely align with recommendations from the CDC and current treatment protocols established by the Florida Department of Health.
If an inmate begins experiencing symptoms indicative of COVID-19 they will be placed in medical isolation.
All inmates in medical isolation are tested for COVID-19 and are monitored by health services staff. Sample testing of asymptomatic inmates in medical quarantine that are elderly, have a compromised immune system and/or preexisting medical condition are being conducted.
What it won’t say is whether mass testing will happen anytime soon, which is why Gabriel Lugo’s family wants him released early. “What’s the difference if someone is due to be released in October to release them now?” Grullon questioned.