A prisoner advocacy group is claiming there is a coronavirus outbreak at the Ash Street Jail in New Bedford but a spokesperson for Sheriff Thomas Hodgson says the accusation is simply not true.
The Bristol County for Correctional Justice said in a press release Friday that several local lawyers say their clients are reporting an outbreak at the aging facility. The organization says the reports are consistent with an alarming trend of coronavirus surges in correctional facilities throughout the state and the country.
âItâs a systemic thing happening in Bristol County,â New Bedford Attorney Colleen Tynan said in a statement. âItâs not a modern facility and Sheriff Tom Hodgson is choosing not to test.â
NEW BEDFORD An advocacy organization is claiming that there is a COVID-19 outbreak at Ash Street Jail, but a spokesman for the Bristol County Sheriff s Office is saying that is not the case.
Bristol County for Correctional Justice sent out a press release Friday morning stating they had learned from several local attorneys that clients are reporting an outbreak of COVID-19 at the jail.
Later that day, a spokesperson for the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, Jonathan Darling, said there is no COVID outbreak at the Ash Street Jail, but there are two corrections officers who tested positive and are out of work.