Hawaii Community Correctional Center appears to be on the mend after an uptick in COVID-19 cases at the facility following the holidays.
The Hilo facility reported on Wednesday there were nine active cases among inmates between Jan. 11 and Tuesday, down from 21 the week of Jan. 4 to 10 and three the week prior, according to testing data kept by the Department of Public Safety. Since 2020, 546 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19.
No hospitalizations were reported, and no staff was infected, per the data. No lockdown was ordered at the facility that housed 290 inmates — well over the operating capacity of 226 — as of Jan. 9.
Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Toni Schwartz said it is difficult to pinpoint an origin of the outbreak, mainly because the pre-trial jail populations are transient, with hundreds of inmates ordered into custody and/or released every day, and tens of thousands of inmates having transferred in and out of custody each year.
West Hawaii Today reached out to the department about the status of COVID cases at the facility after learning at least one court case Thursday in Kona had to be rescheduled due to an “outbreak” at the jail. Other cases were not impacted, however, with some inmates appearing in-person and others via video conference.
Schwartz said any facility experiencing an outbreak may impose a transport suspension for segments of the inmate population that have been placed in medical isolation quarantine, which falls in line with CDC and DOH recommendations for mitigating spread of COVID-19 to inmates within the facility as well as to people in the community.
“All facilities have access to video conferencing with the courts and will work with the courts to facilitate the video conferencing alternative when the judge requests it,” she said.
The courts ultimately decide who is transported and who appears by video or if a case should be rescheduled.
“They have been very understanding of the situation in the facilities and have kept constant communication open behind the scenes with the jails and prisons. Together, they have worked hard to find alternative solutions that keep the inmates, staff and the public safe,” said Schwartz. “The jails and prisons are doing the best they can to provide safe and secure housing during this on-going pandemic. Each facility has adapted the pandemic plan, which is based on Department of Health (DOH) and CDC guidelines for correctional facilities, to meet their individual facility needs and are executing their plans, to the best of their ability, to medically isolate and quarantine inmates in appropriate housing settings.”
Inmates are continually encouraged to receive the vaccine as well as the booster shot.
Mass testing continues to be done at all facilities statewide, in compliance with DOH and CDC guidance for correctional settings.