At Oregon prison, most staff are Idahoans. COVID-19 cases here tied to outbreak there
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 26 with the latest coronavirus data from Southwest District Health.
As of Thursday, 11 people in custody at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon, had died of COVID-19-related causes, and the prison had reported more than 500 cases.
The prison houses about 3,000 people, making it Oregon’s largest, and it employs 870 staff members, according to Amber Campbell, of the Oregon Department of Corrections.
And the majority of those working at Snake River live in Idaho.
Campbell said about 71 percent of the staff do not live in Oregon, which means roughly 617 people employed by the prison are Idahoans. The facility sits on Stanton Boulevard in Ontario, less than 10 miles from the Oregon-Idaho state line. It’s about 9 miles to Payette, 11 miles to Fruitland and 20 miles to Weiser.
The Snake River Correctional Institution had reported 518 coronavirus infections since its first case was reported, as of Thursday, according to the Malheur County Health Department. On Thursday, the Oregon DOC reported having 20 “active” cases at the prison. It also reported having 157 staff members test positive during the pandemic — about 18% of the prison staff.
Katrina Williams, of Idaho’s Southwest District Health, told the Statesman on Oct. 26 that the district has confirmed about 95 cases of coronavirus in Idaho communities believed to be associated with the Snake River Correctional Institution. That does not mean all 95 cases were prison staff members, though.
Both Fruitland and Payette are in Payette County, and Weiser is in Washington County. Both counties are under the jurisdiction of Southwest.
Payette County remains in the “red” health alert level, meaning the county has a high risk of coronavirus transmission, the health district said Friday. Being in the “red” means the county has more than five new cases confirmed daily per 10,000 people. Washington County is in the “orange” health alert level, meaning the county is reporting 2.5-5 new cases daily per 10,000 people.
Christine Myron, of Central District Health, said her district does not have any residents from its jurisdiction — Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties — who currently have coronavirus associated with the Snake River Correctional Institution.
“However, we have had two residents from our jurisdiction who were COVID positive and associated with this facility in the past,” Myron told the Statesman via email.
Oregon DOC reports that all employees are screened upon entering the prison, checked for a fever, and questioned about whether they have possible coronavirus symptoms. Masks are required to be worn by staff and inmates if 6-feet distancing cannot be maintained, and they are always required in the health services area, some work areas and food services areas.
The Idaho Department of Correction has reported three deaths among people who’ve contracted coronavirus while incarcerated. Two were inmates at Idaho prisons and one was an Idaho offender being housed at Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, per a contract with IDOC.
Much like Idaho’s, Oregon’s prisons are also closed to in-person visitation, volunteer visits and most contracted employees.
Statewide, Oregon’s coronavirus outbreak has involved fewer cases than Idaho’s, despite having a population more than twice the size of Idaho’s. On Thursday, Idaho has reported more than 50,000 cases statewide while Oregon has reported a little over 40,000 infections.
Malheur County has reported 37 COVID-19-related deaths countywide since the pandemic began.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
