‘It’s scary’: Contractor working at Alberta prisons worried for his health
Posted Mar 16, 2021 7:23 am.
Last Updated Mar 16, 2021 7:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DRUMHELLER (660 NEWS) – The danger posed by COVID-19 in prisons is not only limited to guards and prisoners as contractors also put themselves in harms way
One contractor who maintains phone systems at federal institutions in Alberta spoke to 660 NEWS, saying the situation is frightening.
“It’s scary, you want to think about your life,” said John Liikala, a sub-contractor who said he’s the only one in Alberta who goes into the federal prisons to maintain the phones.
He said the Drumheller Institution is too risky and had a close contact scare in February, despite his precautions.
“It just makes me nervous. Every time I go into a prison, I have to make sure that I’ve got the splash shield, face mask, gloves if you have to go into places where it’s bad, gown up.”
WATCH: Vaccination of incarcerated Canadians draws criticism
There are dozens of active cases at the institution and Liikala is worried if he can’t repair inmate phone systems, they’ll get upset about not being able to call loved ones
The 62-year-old wants to be eligible for a vaccine, like other frontline staff but worries there’s little urgency.
“I’ve just been underlooked. Are they going to blame me because I took on the responsibility to go in there and do that or do I blame them? I got to worry about my health.”
Correctional Services Canada (CSC) said safety is a top priority for them and they also do active screening for anyone going in, along with disinfecting anything a contractor may be working on.
Last month, Correctional investigator Ivan Singer said new COVID-19 cases climbed to 880 at more than a dozen prisons between early November and Feb. 1, compared to 361 cases at six institutions in the first wave.
Most of those cases were at institutions in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The CSC said at the end of February, it has vaccinated about 600 older and medically compromised offenders and plans to begin inoculating the rest of its 12,500 inmates in the spring.
-With files from The Canadian Press
