Seventh inmate at Monroe prison tests positive for COVID-19

A seventh inmate has tested positive for COVID-19 at the Monroe Correctional Complex, where a visiting state lawmaker described fearful inmates and exhausted staff members two days after a disturbance erupted over the outbreak.

The 67-year-old inmate was housed until April 5 in the Minimum Security Unit. He was transferred to medical isolation because he had contact with the first inmate who tested positive, a Department of Corrections official said. Five staff members also have tested positive for COVID-19.

Gov. Jay Inslee said the state is considering releasing nonviolent offenders early to free up space so inmates at risk of infection can be isolated.

The state Supreme Court on Friday directed Inslee and DOC Secretary Stephen Sinclair to “immediately exercise their authority to take all necessary steps to protect the health and safety” of inmates in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The high court ordered them to report in writing no later than noon Monday on “all steps that have been taken and will be taken.”

George Pender is an inmate in the Minimum Security Unit, where the outbreak has occurred.

Speaking by phone Friday, Pender said even though his area of the unit is supposed to be on quarantine, inmates continue to play games such as chess and Monopoly and talk on the phone about 2 feet from each other.

They also gather at kiosks to use JPay — an e-messaging service used by prison systems across the nation — in close proximity with inmates from other wings, he said.

Social distancing involves being at least 6 feet apart from others to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

“So what if one of us ain’t sick and one of them are sick and we go out and we’re touching the same things? How do you prevent the spread?” asked Pender, a former Tacoma resident who said he is eligible for early release under the state’s Graduated Reentry program.

“You can’t do (social distancing) in prison,” he said.

On Friday, state Rep. Roger Goodman, chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, visited the Minimum Security Unit on a fact-finding mission. It came two days after more 100 inmates began a demonstration in the recreation yard after walking out of their units. Guards unsuccessfully tried to halt the demonstration with verbal commands, pepper spray, and sting balls, which release light, noise and rubber pellets.

The inmates returned to their living units and were told by guards to get on their bunk beds, but about 50 would not, DOC said. Inmates set off fire extinguishers in two housing areas within the Minimum Security Unit and property was damaged.

About 18 inmates on Thursday were placed in what DOC calls “administrative segregation,” which is similar to solitary confinement, pending an investigation into the disturbance.

Goodman, a Kirkland Democrat, said he spoke to several of them about how COVID-19 triggered the disturbance.

“They’re afraid of living in such close quarters. They are confused because their routines have been changed. There’s a lot of uncertainty and a lot of fear,” he said.

Goodman said DOC “is doing all that it can to keep our incarcerated population safe during this unprecedented crisis.”

The prison system announced that masks are required for all inmates and staff across the state, he said.

Mattresses on some bunk beds at Monroe’s Minimum Security Unit have been removed so there is more distance between them. In quarantined areas, staff members are delivering meals so inmates don’t go to the dining hall.

“Still, you have people congregating in the wings and passing by one another and sharing bathrooms. As in pretty much any prison, it’s almost impossible to practice the physical distancing that others can practice,” he said.

Goodman said guards and other staff members in the Minimum Security Unit are operating with a “depleted staff,” and are exhausted from long hours handling everything from laundry to food service. Because of contact tracing, several staff members are in self-quarantine at home for up to 14 days, he said.

DOC is allowing the use of alcohol-based cleaning products — which in regular times are considered contraband — and some of the inmates are helping with cleaning, he said.

“I was in the unit where the infections have taken place and it smells like bleach,” Goodman said.

Hours after leaving the prison, he said he still was processing his visit. He was joined by Joanna Carns, director of the state Office of the Corrections Ombuds.

“Just to hear the prisoners out of their windows thanking us for being there and saying ‘please save us, please help us,’ was very poignant,” he said.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 8:06 PM.