COVID-19 outbreak at youth correctional facility highlights challenges for kids

A COVID-19 outbreak at a correctional centre for youth in North Battleford, Sask., has highlighted potential risk factors for young people.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) declared the outbreak at Drumming Hill Youth Centre on Feb. 4.

Two staff at the centre tested positive for the virus, but only one case remains active, said Margherita Vittorelli, a spokesperson for Saskatchewan’s corrections ministry. The SHA declares an outbreak when two or more people in a given setting test positive.

“These infections may have occurred in the community and not in the course of their work in corrections,” Vittorelli said in an emailed statement.

All six youth at the open-custody facility have tested negative, she said, while staff testing is ongoing.

Corrections cancelled in-person visits early in the pandemic and require symptomatic people to quarantine. The ministry also requires staff and youth to wear masks.

An outbreak has been declared at Paul Dojack Centre, a youth correctional centre in Regina, since Nov. 25, 2020.

A children’s support worker said COVID-19 outbreaks in correctional facilities are particularly taxing for young people.

“It’s very, very challenging for young people with mental health issues to be able to get through that isolation,” said Don Meikle, executive director of EGADZ, which delivers youth programming.

“It further harms them.”

Many youth involved with the justice system have been traumatized as children, he said. Others struggle with mental illness, addictions or cognitive issues.

“They just come in with a host of different challenges that they face, and the pandemic, it actually adds to that,” Meikle said.

Ensuring children and youth have ample COVID-safe social interaction could help soften the blow, he said.

Meikle said it’s also crucial kids are well-educated about the virus to alleviate some of their fear.

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