County Correction Dept. Details Inmate Protocols: Coronavirus

GERMANTOWN, MD — One portion of the Montgomery County population that has yet to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic: inmates. But the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation says it's not taking any chances.

On Tuesday, the county's correction department released its plans to contain the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

"The health and well-being of our employees and those in our custody are our highest priority," Angela Talley, the department's director, said. "The Department of Correction and Rehabilitation is working continuously to respond to COVID-19 and implement practices that protect our staff and inmate population within our facilities."

The department says it has implemented the following measures:

• Inmates have been briefed on the importance of hand washing and other best practices to stop the spread of the virus
• Outside programs and visits have been suspended
  • Inmates get two free, 15-minute phone calls per week
• Commingling of inmates has been reduced
• Quarantine housing has been established
  • The department does not consider the designated housing areas as solitary confinement
    • Inmates housed in these areas must stay in their cells, except to make phone calls, take showers, and participate in recreation time
• Service delivery is provided in areas that allow for social distancing
• All facilities have established cleaning schedules with increased frequency in high-traffic areas
• A temperature check is in place for anyone who enters a facility

The ACLU of Maryland is asking the department to release the details of their plan and to reduce the number of people in detention.

"Public health experts have been very clear in telling government officials that the most critical thing we must do to mitigate the pressure on our medical system is to significantly reduce the numbers of people in detention to minimize spread of the COVID-19," Meredith Curtis Goode, the organization's communications director, told Patch. "To stop the spread of coronavirus, the number of people in detention of all kinds needs to be dramatically reduced — whether children, the elderly, immigrants, people who can't afford bail, or people whose sentences will end soon."

As of Wednesday morning, Maryland has 1,985 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. Montgomery County, the state's most populous jurisdiction, has been hit hardest. The total stands at 447, and increase of 59 from a day earlier.

SEE ALSO:

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• Olive & Loom Sending Care Packages To Coronavirus Hospital Staff
• Montgomery Co. Unemployment Claims Surge Amid Coronavirus Crisis
• José Andrés Donating 4,000 Masks To Hospitals: Coronavirus

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