Days later, the jail informed Phoenix House that the man had been exposed to COVID-19 behind bars.
“We received a call from the jail saying that one of our clients who had transferred over approximately five days earlier had been exposed to someone who was positive at the jail,” said Rob Jaszek, senior program director for Phoenix House in Massachusetts. “We immediately had that client and his five roommates all tested.”
The man tested positive, Jaszek said. Then 30 more people at the facility tested positive, including a staffer. It was the first major COVID outbreak at the location, which includes a men’s house and a women’s house, Jaszek said.