To date, only two inmates have tested positive while incarcerated, and only about two dozen correction officers and deputies have come down with COVID-19.
Now, as COVID-19 worsens again in Suffolk County and in New York State, Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. has continued to monitor the situation to prepare for the potentiality of coronavirus spreading inside the Suffolk County Correctional Facility and the Sheriff’s Office complex.
To prevent this potential outbreak, as of the end of day on Saturday, November 21, 2020, Sheriff Toulon has suspended all inmate visits until further notice.
Attorneys may visit their clients via booth visits only unless requested ahead of time by the attorney. If requested, attorneys will have to show proof of a negative test prior to entry, be subject to an onsite temperature screening, and wear a mask or face covering at all times.
Also, all non-county service providers will revert back to remote visitation for their inmate clients as of Wednesday, November 18, 2020.
All previous COVID-19 precautions continue to be in place. All new admission inmates or inmates returning from a hospital visit will quarantine for 14 days at the Yaphank Facility. Inmates are issued face masks and must wear them at all times while outside of their cells. Inmate workers sanitize public spaces three times daily, and cleaning supplies are available to inmates to sanitize their cells. Staff members have temperatures taken upon entering the building and must wear face coverings at all times.
Sheriff Toulon has been pleased with the success of the precautions thus far, but urges vigilance going forward. “We are not out of the woods yet. As this new wave of infection spreads in Suffolk County, we need to ramp up our efforts to keep it out of the correctional facilities, where social distancing is difficult. We were successful before, and we can do it again.”