MCI Framingham Emerges As Coronavirus Hotspot, City Officials Say

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham's coronavirus case count hit 253 on Tuesday, and city health officials have identified three groups that are being hit especially hard by the virus.

City officials said Monday that workers at essential businesses and people who have had close contact with people who tested positive for the virus are among those most at risk for getting sick.

The third group includes inmates and staff at MCI Framingham.

As of Monday afternoon, 22 inmates had tested positive for coronavirus, plus seven staff members — including two members of the medical staff. There have not been any deaths yet, according to corrections officials.

Coronavirus has infiltrated prisons across the state. Three inmates have died so far during the outbreak. There was a cluster of more than 40 cases at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater, plus a handful of cases at MCI Shirley.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled last week that inmates serving sentences of less than 60 days can ask the court to reduce or revoke their sentence. But inmates serving sentences for more serious offenses are not eligible for release.

The Middlesex County Sheriff has reported a 15 percent drop in the county jail population. Still, at least 6 inmates and 21 staff members at the Middlesex House of Correction and Jail in Billerica have tested positive for the virus.

The Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued to get a ruling from the state on inmate release. The organization has warned that the state's prison population is especially vulnerable during a pandemic.

"People in jail are highly vulnerable to outbreaks of contagious illnesses," the chapter says on its website. "State and local law enforcement including the attorney general, district attorneys, and local police should reduce the number of people in state custody in order to prevent the virus from entering a prison or jail."

So far during the pandemic, 13 inmates at federal prisons across the U.S. have died from complications due to coronavirus. A total of 388 inmates and 201 staff have been sickened in federal facilities.

State DOC officials say they have taken "unprecedented" steps to protect inmates and staff from the virus. Last week, DOC began limiting where inmates can travel, opting to serve meals and medication to prisoners in their cells. Inmates are still allowed phone calls and visits with their attorneys, officials said.

General prison visits were suspended on March 12, and the DOC has set up hand sanitizer stations throughout facilities across the state. Guards are also being told to wear personal protective equipment if they plan to be within 6 feet of an inmate or colleagues.

"The Department of Correction continues to take unprecedented steps to prevent COVID-19 introduction or transmission," DOC said in a statement to Patch. "DOC leadership, staff, and our contracted medical provider, Wellpath, are focused on reducing, to the greatest degree possible, the potential impact of this virus on our inmate population."

As of the last count on Jan. 1, 2019, MCI Framingham had 429 women inmates. State officials have discussed closing the aging facility and moving the inmates to another facility in Norfolk.