Connell prison sees spike in COVID cases. Benton jail ‘turning the corner’

The latest COVID surge is hitting the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, according to numbers released by the state.

In the past 30 days, the Connell prison had 174 new COVID cases, reported the Washington State Department of Corrections.

And nearly half of those happened in the last week, affecting inmates and staff.

The current spike makes up almost a third of the 625 total cases at the minimum-medium security prison since the start of the pandemic.

It’s the largest spike in cases at the prison since November and December 2020 when 149 people, including 114 inmates were infected.

“The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) continues to see the significant impacts of the omicron COVID-19 variant that are mirrored across the state,” according to a Jan. 11 memo from Sean Murphy, the deputy prison system secretary.

Family members of prisoners have told the Herald they are concerned about how the Department of Corrections is handling this most recent outbreak. One person raised concerns about not being able to get a booster shot at Coyote Ridge.

In response to the increase of cases, the state has temporarily suspended visitations.

The agency said it is monitoring the COVID data and is acting on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Washington State Department of Health.

The numbers at the Connell prison north of the Tri-Cities reflect the continuing spike of cases in Benton and Franklin counties at large.

The Tri-Cities rate had climbed to 2,550 new cases per 100,000 over two weeks as of Friday.

During the pandemic, three Coyote Ridge inmates have died from complications of the coronavirus.

Benton County jail

While COVID may be headed for a peak at Coyote Ridge, the rates have been improving at the Benton County jail, said Lt. Josh Combs.

Earlier this week, the jail reported 97 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 and were being monitored by medical staff. The jail houses 420 inmates in 20 housing units

That number had dropped to 66 by Friday afternoon.

“We seem to be turning the corner,” said Lt. Joshua Combs with the Benton County Corrections Department.

They’ve also seen a decline in the number of inmates who are needing to be quarantined, Combs said.

The omicron variant hit the jail suddenly in several different areas, Combs said.

It started about two weeks ago, with cases flaring up in five housing units simultaneously. First, with a single case, but then after testing, they found there were several others who were either not showing symptoms or just starting to display symptoms.

In all, jail staff found eight of the 20 housing units were impacted. In addition to the inmates who were sick, 91 others were placed in quarantine. They were monitored and tested in regular intervals under the guidance of public health officials.

Jail officials have been working closely with the Benton Franklin Health District and following guidance from the National Sheriff’s Association and the CDC’s corrections unit.

The corrections department contacted District Court initially to talk about limiting the number of new inmates being sent to jail. Combs explained jail officials don’t unilaterally make that decision. Court officials agreed not to have most misdemeanor offenders with less than $5,000 bail to be held in the jail.

That doesn’t affect cases when it’s mandatory someone be jailed, such as a domestic violence assault or a felony crime.

Combs also explained they have some latitude, so if it is more dangerous to let a person stay out of jail, they will book him even if it is a misdemeanor.

COVID also has hit jail staffing. At the height of infections, they had 24 employees at home sick.

Combs said 20 of them have returned to work.

“We appreciate the way that our staff has come together,” he said. “It has been a Herculean effort.”