25 Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 at Caroline Detention Facility
Bowling Green, VA. Sep 22, 2020 — ICE has confirmed 25 active cases of COVID-19 at Caroline detention facility, though the actual number is likely higher because detained people say that testing has been limited. Additionally, they report that multiple dorms are under quarantine but guards are moving freely between infected and uninfected dorms potentially spreading the virus throughout the facility.
For months now the people detained at Caroline have been raising alarm about the possibility of an outbreak, their concerns have been either ignored or met with violent force and brutality. On July 13th, guards entered Block TE and ordered everyone to their cells, indicating that they were to be quarantined. A group of people refused to leave until they were given more information and sanitizing supplies. A lieutenant threw Carlos Rivas, one of the men, to the ground, held him down by his neck, and beat him while he was heard saying, “I can’t breathe.” Mr. Rivas had to be carried to medical since he was bleeding and could not stand on his own. Later approximately ten witnesses were put into solitary confinement, some for as long as 60 days, and their access to phone calls was restricted.
In April, three people tested positive for COVID-19 at Caroline, and this summer ICA-Farmville, also in Virginia, had a massive outbreak that resulted in 93% of the facility testing positive for the virus and took the life of James Hill. ICE routinely transfers people between these two facilities, including people who show symptoms of COVID-19. In fact, in April dozens of people from New York and New Jersey were moved to Caroline detention facility, and people were also moved between Caroline and ICA-Farmville. Soon after, the first people tested positive for COVID-19 at both Virginia facilities.
The summer outbreak at ICA-Farmville was a result of ICE transferring in 74 people from Arizona and Florida, 51 of whom later tested positive for COVID-19. A recent CDC investigation of ICA-Farmville found evidence of inadequate quarantining, that likely led to the rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout the facility. Now, the people detained at Caroline are reporting a similar level of neglect. It is imperative that we do not allow Caroline to be the next site of a widespread and deadly COVID-19 outbreak. Governor Northam and the Virginia Department of Health should act quickly to inspect the facility, release everyone, and shut it down before ICE takes another life.
