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A doctor who inspected Brooklyn’s federal jail issued a damning report Friday on the feds’ handling of the coronavirus outbreak behind bars, claiming the disease may be in the early stages of “exponential growth” at the facility.
Dr. Homer Venters, who previously served as chief medical officer for New York City’s jail system, inspected the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park last Thursday, and panned the facility for lacking proper protective gear and screening.
Venters’ report is part of a March 27 lawsuit filed by defense lawyers seeking to release 537 detainees from the Brooklyn federal lockup identified as “high-risk” because of their age and preexisting conditions.
“The net effect of these failings is that individuals within the MDC will be infected with COVID-19 and they will be identified at a dangerously late stage of infection,” Venters wrote to Brooklyn Federal Judge Rachel Kovner. “I am concerned that there may be a significant number of cases of COVID-19 that are undetected, both propelling the pace of the outbreak within the MDC.”
During a three-hour visit to the facility, Venters spoke with 17 detainees and several correction workers. He inspected numerous living units and isolation units where infected inmates were being held, according to his report.
The doctor also reported that the jail’s medical staff was not responding quickly enough to reports of virus symptoms, and failed to check anything more than inmates’ temperatures.
“Detainees indicated that it generally takes several requests and between 3-7 days to be seen by medical staff. Other detainees indicated that medical staff never responded at all,” Venters wrote.
While only 13 detainees have been tested for coronavirus at the facility, Venters reported that inmates have made 147 “sick-call” requests reporting symptoms.
“I would have expected — at minimum — that the MDC had sufficient levels of PPE, cleaning solution and equipment, an adequate quantity of tests available and that common, high-touch surfaces such as phones and computers would be cleaned between uses,” Venters wrote. “While at MDC, I observed several correctional staff not wearing gloves or masks, and it was not clear who was mandated to wear masks or gloves. Staff wore loose-fitting surgical masks even in the Isolation unit.”
Reports of inadequate protective gear and and response to medical issues have plagued the Brooklyn detention center for over a month.