COVID-19 outbreaks declared at two Kingston area correctional facilities
As COVID-19 case counts for the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) region continue to climb, so too do the number of outbreaks locally.
Between Friday, Dec. 3 and Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, KFL&A Public Health declared three outbreaks, bringing the current number of active COVID-19 outbreaks in the region to 24, with 87 active cases associated with those outbreaks.
Of the new outbreaks announced since Friday, one is within a school (Polson Park Public School), and two are within area correctional facilities.
Henry Trail Correctional Centre
On Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, KFL&A Public Health declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the federal facility, often referred to as a ‘halfway house.’ The correctional centre, located adjacent to Collins Bay Penitentiary on Bath Road, currently has three active cases of COVID-19, according to Public Health. The populations involved in this outbreak are not specified, and the COVID-19 data for the Henry Traill Correction Centre is not provided by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) as it is for penitentiaries. Therefore, it is unknown whether this outbreak is among inmates, staff, or both.
Quinte Detention Centre
KFL&A Public Health declared an outbreak at the Napanee-based provincial detention centre on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. Currently, there are two cases involved in the outbreak, both of which are active, according to data from KFL&A Public Health. While Public Health did not specify whether the cases there are among inmates and/or staff, as of Dec. 5, data from the Ontario government states that there is one active case at Quinte Detention Centre, with 10 cumulative cases amongst inmates resolved since the beginning of the pandemic, and one resolved case involving a released inmate since the beginning of the pandemic. The same data set has been reported for Quinte Detention Centre by the province since Monday, Nov. 28, 2021. As of Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021, there were no active cases listed. It appear the provincial data is updated later than the local Public Health data, which has been consistent throughout the pandemic.
Kingstonist will continue to monitor these outbreaks and provide updates as more information becomes available.