Some NY prison employees test positive for COVID-19 antibodies
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Corrections officers at Auburn Correctional Facility now wear masks when working.
Kevin Rivoli, The Citizen
New York’s testing of essential workers for COVID-19 antibodies expanded to include about 3,000 state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision employees.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that 7.5% of DOCCS employees, which includes correction officers and parole officers, tested positive for the COVID-19 antibodies. Antibodies can show that a person was infected with the virus.
The rate of positive antibody tests among DOCCS employees is below the statewide population. So far, 12.3% of New Yorkers sampled have tested positive for the COVID-19 antibodies.
As of Tuesday, 1,185 DOCCS employees tested positive for COVID-19. Diagnostic tests, which are different than antibody tests, were used to determine whether they had the illness.
Cuomo explained that prisons have been a concern because of how quickly COVID-19 can spread in confined facilities. But he’s encouraged by the antibody test results because of the relatively low rate of infection among staff.
“That should give us all some peace of mind that the essential workers were out there, are doing fantastic work for us and we’ve made sure that they were protected in doing the work that they’re doing,” Cuomo said.
When the COVID-19 outbreak began in New York, DOCCS suspended visitation at state prisons and implemented other measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Employees are now required to wear masks while on duty and inmates can use state-issued handkerchiefs as face coverings. DOCCS also decided to issue surgical masks to incarcerated individuals.
The state hasn’t released information about the correctional facilities that have employees who tested positive for COVID-19. DOCCS isn’t revealing that information due to security concerns. But the agency is sharing the facility breakdown of cases among the incarcerated population.
There are 438 inmates who tested positive for COVID-19, 14 of whom died. Most of the inmates — 307 — who contracted the virus have recovered.
The prison with the most cases is Fishkill Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley. There have been 89 cases and five deaths reported at the prison.
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, which represents correction officers, has advocated for many of the safety measures adopted by DOCCS. However, they are hoping more can be done to protect employees working inside prisons.
NYSCOPBA President Michael Powers told The Citizen last week that one concern is employees who recover from COVID-19 and are ordered back to work, but may have long-term effects of the virus.
“Some of our guys are slipping through the cracks,” Powers said. “Even though they don’t test positive, there are residual aspects that some are dealing with.”
In other news:
• New York has tested other essential workers to determine if they have COVID-19 antibodies. In addition to DOCCS employees, 2,750 members of the state police were also tested. The tests found 3.1% of state troopers had COVID-19 antibodies. That’s well below the 12.3% of the statewide population that tested positive for the antibodies.
• Cuomo repeated what he said on Tuesday — that New York is on the other side of the mountain.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations continues to fall. And while 166 people died in a 24-hour period, the number of deaths reported daily is declining, too.
“We have hopefully come through the worst,” Cuomo said.
Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.
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