Parts of men's prison remain quarantined due to swine flu outbreak

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_12967013

Parts of men's prison remain quarantined due to swine flu outbreak
Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 07/31/2009 01:03:22 PM PDT

CHINO - Soon after learning last week about an outbreak of swine flu at California Institution for Men, prison officials implemented several preventative measures.

Quarantine was placed on three affected housing units in the prison's Reception Center-West facility, which houses more than 1,000 inmates in eight buildings.

Seven inmates were confirmed with swine flu, while hundreds more this week were placed in quarantine. Swine flu has been found at CIM after more than a score of inmates there recently reported flu-like symptoms.

According to Luis Patino, spokesman for the California Prison Health Care Services, 736 inmates have been placed under quarantine to limit exposure to inmates and staff.

Since the quarantine, there have been no new reports of inmates with symptoms.

Preventative measures at CIM included:

? Inmates are not being transferred into or from affected housing units to other state correctional facilities.

? Restricted inmate movement.

? Inmates scheduled for parole release are being medically evaluated and will be given written instructions before they are paroled

? Routine programs were suspended until further notice

? Visiting in quarantined units is not allowed

? Inmates in quarantined units are confined to quarters and being fed in their dormitory

The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the health
services agency sent samples to labs to confirm whether the inmates were infected by swine flu.

As a result of the quarantine, officials decided last week to bar new inmates into the affected housing units.

In order to minimize the spread of the virus, the transfer of inmates to other state institutions is limited to inmates from unaffected units.

CIM receives about 400 inmates a week from county jails and typically releases onto parole about 300.

"What we have been seeing in prisons across the state when this has occurred so far is that we have been successful in containing the spread of (swine flu) using this system of isolation and quarantine and at this point we have seen no or few hospitalizations and no death," Patino said.

He said there have been a few cases throughout the state of prison staff members being infected by the virus.

"Employees who come into contact with the inmates wear masks so they don't become contaminated," correctional agency spokeswoman Terry Thornton said.

"By isolating the sick inmates in one location you limit the number of staff that are going to come in contact with them."

State officials said they have informed county officials of the infections.

CIM, which opened in 1941, currently houses 5,818 inmates and employs about 2,200 people.

Thornton said there have been no suspected cases found at either the nearby California Institute for Women or Heman G. Stark youth prison.

Thornton said his agency is tracking about 200 cases statewide. Of those, she said 34 are confirmed with swine flu in adult prisons and three in a youth prison in Stockton.

neil.nisperos@inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9356

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Parts of men's prison remain quarantined due to swine flu outbreak

"What we have been seeing in prisons across the state when this has occurred so far is that we have been successful in containing the spread of (swine flu) using this system of isolation and quarantine and at this point we have seen no or few hospitalizations and no death," Patino said.

If someone can devise a version of this for school children, maybe we could minimize cases until a vaccine is available.

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[peter m]

Re: Parts of men's prison remain quarantined due to swine flu outbreak

If someone can devise a version of this for school children, maybe we could minimize cases until a vaccine is available.

The CA prisons are run better than our exemplary public school system(sarcasm) . Honesty i am not joking. CA prison system is big big business and a major force in Ca politics, and the prison guards unions is all powerful and gets priority in Ca budgeting, and gets the goodies for both guards and prisoners. They will move on the sw flu fairly quick, and it is far easier to isolate and quarantee prisoners than schoolkids.

BTW i have been out to Chino Men' Prison( no i wasn't an innate, did a delivery)) . It is in an isolated sparsely poplulated part of Chino, located in midst of former farm/pasture land. Chino itself is a huge Riverside County community, until recently a cowlick ranch/ laidback horse town, with much land given to grazing & pasture and huge commercal /industrial parks. Not an appealing communty as it gets windblown yellowish smog and sweltering heat 8 monthes of the year. That is why the mens prision is located there.

Another major men prison is located in Victorville, way out in high desert north of LA. Victorville is even less appealing than Chino in overall quality of life and the prison is located and isolated way out in empty desert land. Easy to isolate prisoners in both of these facilties as they are well away from major polulatiion centers of LA and OC

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Parts of men's prison remain quarantined due to swine flu outbreak

I saw the High Desert prison in Susanville this spring - quite the place.

Regarding the comparison to school children: if parents would keep their sick children home and isolate them in a bedroom, we might actually lower the case numbers until after a vaccine is available.

I remember a 1918 story about a mom who kept her ill child isolated in one bedroom and her healthy one in the basement. The one in the basement resented the isolation until years later when they understood it saved their life.

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[peter m]

Re: Parts of men's prison remain quarantined due to swine flu outbreak

Regarding the comparison to school children: if parents would keep their sick children home and isolate them in a bedroom, we might actually lower the case numbers until after a vaccine is available.

This fall and winter that might be the best way to protect children, keeping them at home isolated and quaranteed. With CA U--6 real UE rates at over 20% i imagine that will free up more UE parents to actually stay home and tend to their sick kids.
Also with El Governator cutting 6-10 billion from state education & health budgets there will be less resources available at the public school level for the state to be a great big nanny and care for all the school kids, seeing that health programs and services are being cut back in every area of public health including the healthy families program for children of low income parents.
More and more families must rely upon their own resourscs to care for their kids as the state is shriveling up and cannot pour resources for proper pandemic preparation. Especially in such less well off regions as inner LA, San berdoo, riverside, and rural central valley areas, the effects of the state cutbacks in public health asistance will be devasating. WE have the intersection of two great colliding forces: CA in an economic/ fiscal collapse coinciding with the likely emergence of a pandemic health catastrophe this fall/winter . Ca is among the most devastated states economically with 4th highest Ue rate and a growing no. of uninsured families/ folks tettering on the edge fiscally and with the state's safety lifeline getting cut back . Things are very bad here in the former golden state with a splendid pedigree and spectacular scenery but with it's fiscal house in disarray.

Prediction : Obama will inject a Katrina- type massive infusion of federal aid into Ca in event of a catastrophic pandemic health crisis here . The Feds will simply print out another 10-100 billion in emergency funds and sell more US treasuries to china.
Ca is just too big and important, with too many democratic voters, and it will get fed funds in event of a pandemic crisis.