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The lower number of cases in maximum security may be due to a couple of factors. Skene said when the outbreak was first uncovered in medium security, preventative measures were immediately increased. Medium security also has larger ranges with more inmates and barred doors, which allows for air transmission back and forth, whereas maximum security has smaller ranges and cell doors are solid, she said.
The order applied to all staff and management at the prison, including Skene.
“It was a significant challenge for all of our staff and some of it was putting the little things into perspective. One might take for granted that they could stop at a pharmacy and pick up prescriptions or stop and get whatever groceries you need for a supper at any time, and this was definitely not the case,” she said.
Posted: Jan 26, 2021 3:00 AM CT | Last Updated: January 26
Stony Mountain Institution in Manitoba, Canada s oldest federal prison, was the site of a massive COVID-19 outbreak. (Justin Fraser/CBC News )
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alex Doyle was doing his best to follow public health orders and keep himself and his young family free of infection.
But last November, Doyle ended up back in Manitoba s Stony Mountain Institution north of Winnipeg after violating parole conditions for a drug trafficking and break and enter conviction.
And that s where he may have inadvertently become a superspreader in Canada s worst outbreak so far in a federal penitentiary.
“We definitely feel we’ve made great progress with the pandemic and are pleased, because our recovered numbers continue to go up every week,” said Lee Anne Skene, the federal prison’s deputy warden.