Relatives of inmates protest conditions amid COVID-19 outbreak

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    MAUI COUNTY, Hawaii (KITV) — According to the Department of Public Safety, 75 inmates and one staff member have tested positive for COVID-19 and there are 43 active infections inside the Maui Community Correctional Center.

People protested outside MCCC Friday evening, demanding safer living conditions for the inmates amid the spike in cases.

Angelika Serafika’s son is an inmate inside MCCC and she tells KITV4 he calls her almost every day, but lately those calls have become more desperate.

“He basically told me ‘I’m not going to get out of here until I do test positive’ well he finally tested positive a couple days ago,” she told KITV4.

Serafika explained that her son reports there are at least 90 inmates showing symptoms of COVID-19 and they are all intermingling in general population.

“I kept getting assured these guys were not getting put in together but when they emptied out some of the other units they crammed everybody together they put him straight in with other sick people,” she told KITV4.

Nicole Ottersen attended Friday’s protest and told KITV4 her fiance is currently housed with sick inmates despite testing negative multiple times.

“One of my real main concerns is the accountability. I called the department of health, I called the Public Safety Department, I called the corrections oversight and they all gave me different numbers to call,” she told KITV4.

The group protesting is demanding isolation for all inmates showing symptoms or testing positive. They’re also concerned with personal protective equipment. Both Ottersen and Serafika told KITV4 their family inside the jail has been given one mask, meaning they must choose to go mask-less while they wash it, or wear a dirty mask indefinitely. They are asking for another mask to be given to each inmate.

Here is the full list of their demands:

-Immediate medical isolation of confirmed or suspected COVID19 cases with proper medical attention; sick COVID+ inmates are not receiving adequate medical care.
-Quarantine all newly admitted and those who had close contacts of COVID19. Immediately cease the intermingling of COVID+ inmates with suspected cases and the general population NOW.
-Staff must wear masks at all times and enforce mask wearing of inmates.
-Staff must be tested on a regular basis and medically screened before coming on shift.
-New masks everyday for inmates or 2 cloth masks/inmate so they can wash/reuse.
-MCCC must abide by CDC guidelines that includes;-“Confirmed cases must be housed in a well ventilated room with solid walls and a solid door that closes fully and separately from suspected cases”-Those exposed to COVID-19 must be quarantined separate from confirmed cases
-MCC must follow the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission’s cohorting requirements including;-Bunks must be at least 6 feet apart, double bunks have only one occupant-Consideration of medical isolation and quarantine of cases who have a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 (i.e., elders, schizophrenics, etc.)
-Accountability – Victorio must allocate funds to bring the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission into MCCC to ensure they start following the state & CDC’s protocol.
-Transparency- prompt sharing of accurate data on MCCC’s COVID19 infections.

The Department of Public Safety, through a spokesperson, sent this statement to KITV4:

The Department of Public Safety (PSD) is aware of the concerns expressed by the families and that is why the Maui Community Correctional Center security and medical staff are working long hours to safeguard the staff and inmates and mitigate virus spread. The facility health care staff are monitoring inmates for symptoms, taking temperatures, and making health checks at least twice a day. All offenders have also been told if they have any pains or symptoms of an upper respiratory illness to report it immediately to the medical staff. If it is after hours the facility will call an on-call doctor for a consult. No inmates have required hospitalization due to COVID-19.

Staff are routinely tested. Yesterday 35 staff test results came back negative and today there were 22 negative staff results reported through DOH testing. One (1) MCCC employee reported a positive result from independent testing. (Note: The staff results are included in today’s Daily News Digest from the Joint Information Center)
Inmates who test positive or negative are placed in designated housing units within the facility and separated as determined by medical staff, as recommended by the DOH, and in accordance with the PSD Pandemic Response Plan. The facilities are following the PSD Pandemic Plan to medically isolate, quarantine and cohort inmates based on CDC and DOH recommended guidelines.

-All offenders were issued at least 2 cloth masks upon entry and are required to wear them.
-Offenders also have the option of purchasing masks through the commissary if they prefer different brands or styles.
-All inmates and staff are required to follow all safety and sanitation protocols including wearing a barrier mask over their nose and mouth in inmate housing and common areas, frequently washing hands and maintaining adequate social distancing to the extent possible.
-All offenders have unrestricted access to hot water, soap, and sanitation supplies.

The PSD Health Care Division has gone to great lengths to make sure a comprehensive plan is in place to safeguard the health of all inmates and staff in our facilities. They developed a comprehensive pandemic response plan for all facilities, based upon current guidance from the CDC and approved by the Office of Correctional Health of the American Correctional Association. Each facility has adapted the plan to meet their individual facility needs. Each facility has situations they deal with that are unique to their facility, and the administration at those facilities takes that into consideration as they execute their plans to the best of their ability. You can read the entire PSD Pandemic Plan on our dedicated COVID-19 information and resources webpage here: dps.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-resources.

We put out updates every day, either through a news release or through the Joint Information Center’s Daily News Digest (DND). All of our daily updates and inmate testing graphs are also posted on PSD’s COVID-19 Information and Resource webpage and PSD’s social media pages by the end of the day too.

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