Inmate Visits Suspended At Suffolk Jails Due To Coronavirus

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — With coronavirus cases spiking across Suffolk County, Sheriff Errol Toulon announced that all inmate visits in correctional facilities will be suspended until further notice as of the end of the day on Saturday, Nov. 21.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office was "extremely successful in abating the spread of the virus" when the pandemic began in the spring, Toulon said.

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, he added.

Attorneys may visit their clients via booth visits only unless requested ahead of time by the attorney, Toulon said. 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, he added.

Also, all non-county service providers will revert back to remote visitation for their inmate clients as of Nov. 18.

All previous COVID-19 precautions continue to be in place, Toulon said: 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.

“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," Toulon said.