The head of the union at the Sarnia Jail says his members should have access to N95 masks during an COVID-19 outbreak.

On Jan. 8, Lambton Public Health declared an outbreak at the jail. By Jan. 18, 32 inmates and fewer than five guards had tested positive. Joel Bissonette, the head of Local 128 of the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union, first began to see signs of COVID in the jail before Christmas with staff members testing positive at that time. He estimates at least 10 jail staff have now tested positive.

The story is the same as it was in the first waves of the pandemic. The Sarnia Jail is a crowded place and there are no walls to isolate people who might be ill. “The union is actively trying to get us approval for N95 masks when we’re dealing with either confirmed positive or suspected positives cases and to date we have not we have not been able to get that agreement.”

Bissonette says ironically the N95s are in the building and used for other health and safety concerns such as when they suspect they’ve found fentanyl.

“The employer is saying the surgical masks are good enough and we’re questioning that…with the new variants.”

Bissonette says a Sarnia corrections officer did file an appeal to try to get the proper protection, however it was turned down.

And the union says while the Ministry of Correction reduced the number of people at the Sarnia Jail during outbreak, that’s not happening now because there are so many other jails with COVID, there is no place for the people to go.

He says 99 bed facility is “almost 100 per cent full if not over capacity.”