COVID-19 cases surge by 700% in two days at Queens’ privately run jail

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A STAFF MEMBER CLOSES A GATE AT A GEO GROUP JAIL. THE PRIVATE PRISON CONTRACTOR RUNS NEW YORK CITY’S ONLY PRIVATE JAIL, THE QUEENS DETENTION FACILITY, IN SPRINGFIELD GARDENS. AP PHOTO/TED S. WARREN

A STAFF MEMBER CLOSES A GATE AT A GEO GROUP JAIL. THE PRIVATE PRISON CONTRACTOR RUNS NEW YORK CITY’S ONLY PRIVATE JAIL, THE QUEENS DETENTION FACILITY, IN SPRINGFIELD GARDENS. AP PHOTO/TED S. WARREN

By David Brand

The number of inmates with COVID-19 inside New York City’s only privately run jail increased by 700 percent in two days, according to a court-ordered report by the corporation that operates the detention complex in Springfield Gardens.

The Queens Detention Facility, a 222-bed jail run by private prison contractor GEO Group, recorded 16 positive cases of COVID-19 among inmates Thursday, up from two Tuesday. GEO Group, the second largest private prison corporation in the United States, contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service to detain people before their sentencing in federal court. The jail, located near JFK Airport, made news after the release of its most famous inmate, Brooklyn rapper Tekashi 69, earlier this month.

At least 30 inmates have been tested for the coronavirus, according to the report published Thursday in accordance with a ruling by a federal judge in Brooklyn.

The new numbers correspond with what five inmates, their loved ones and defense attorneys have said about the surge of the illness inside the jail’s seven open dormitory-style housing units, where inmates share bunk beds. The Eagle has been reporting on conditions in the jail for the past two weeks. 

“Everyone’s coughing, sneezing on top of each other,” said one inmate, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “We’re not practicing social distancing because you cannot do social distancing in this jail because everyone is so on top of each other.”

GEO Group has used the Queens Detention Facility’s eight-cell restrictive housing unit to isolate the sickest inmates in the jail, but inmates and attorneys have said that far more than eight people are extremely ill. Social distancing, they say, is all but impossible in units where inmates share bunk beds. 

At least eight staff members have also tested positive for COVID-19, according to the court-mandated report. Staff were not required to wear personal protective equipment until April 3, according to a previous report by GEO Group. 

Inmates began to receive N-80 masks on Tuesday, GEO Group wrote in a previous report. 

Two inmates confirmed that the GEO Group has distributed masks to everyone in the jail.

“We are placing high emphasis on good hygienic practices, intensifying cleaning, and disinfection of the facility, GEO Group wrote in the earlier report. “Furthermore, we implemented strong internal controls screening new detainees, staff and visitors when applicable.”

GEO Group also included a footnote in their report Tuesday indicating that New York City’s Department of Health informed the corporation “that testing detainees, who demonstrated symptoms of COVID-19 at the Queens Private Detention Facility, was no longer necessary.”

“The DOH stated that the person should be confined and his or her symptoms should be treated,” the report continues. “He or she can be released from confinement when the person has no fever without medication.”

Jail staff continued testing inmates despite the guidance, GEO Group wrote in its report.

A Health Department spokesperson Tuesday said the agency is “unable to confirm any conversations took place with staff at Queens Detention Facility.”

The spokesperson shared a link to the city’s guidance for congregate settings, including jails, which states that “routine outpatient COVID-19 testing is not needed” because a person with symptoms of COVID-19 should be assumed to have the illness.