Inmate visits will be suspended at Suffolk County correctional facilities as of the end of the day on Saturday and until further notice to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19, as the infection rate in the county increases, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. announced today in a press release.
Attorneys may visit their clients via booth visits only unless requested ahead of time by the attorney, according to the press release. If requested, attorneys will have to show proof of a negative test prior to entry, be subject to an onsite temperature screening and wear a mask or face covering at all times.
All non-county service providers will revert back to remote visitation for their inmate clients as of today, the sheriff said.
All previous COVID-19 precautions remain in place: All new admission inmates or inmates returning from a hospital visit will quarantine for 14 days at the Yaphank facility. Inmates are issued face masks and must wear them at all times while outside of their cells. Inmate workers sanitize public spaces three times daily and cleaning supplies are available to inmates to sanitize their cells. Staff members have temperatures taken upon entering the building and must wear face coverings at all times.
To date, there have only been two inmates test positive for COVID-19 while incarcerated, Toulon said.
“Only about two dozen correction officers and deputies have come down with COVID-19,” the sheriff said.
Toulon said he has been pleased with the success of the precautions thus far, but urges vigilance going forward.
“We are not out of the woods yet. As this new wave of infection spreads in Suffolk County, we need to ramp up our efforts to keep it out of the correctional facilities, where social distancing is difficult,” he said. “We were successful before, and we can do it again.”
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