GREENFIELD — Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan has announced temporary limitations of the jail and house of correction as well as the TRIAD office in an attempt to reduce potential exposure to coronavirus.
Donelan said only full-time staff with critical duties will be scheduled at the jail in the coming weeks. Volunteers and interns will be kept out of the facility, located at 160 Elm St.
Visits to inmates are being canceled to prevent family members from bringing illness into the facility. Incoming inmates will be screened for potential risk based on their recent contacts and health issues, with quarantine for those deemed high risk.
“This jail is like an incubator,” Donelan said in a statement. “If the coronavirus were to show up here, the spread would be fast and furious. We need to do everything we can to protect our employees and the men and women sentenced to our care.”
Donelan also said his TRIAD office will, as a proactive measure, limit visits with senior citizens. The TRIAD program is a crime-prevention and wellness initiative aimed at protecting senior citizens’ safety and welfare.
“Senior citizens are a vulnerable population. We don’t want our officers, who come into contact with hundreds of people a week, increasing the risk of exposure to a senior at a home visit,” he said.
People can contact the office, which will remain open, at 413-774-4726. Officers will continue to visit senior citizens’ homes to drop off and pick up medical equipment, though officers will attempt to do this by leaving items on porches, rather than entering the homes. Arrangements can also be made for equipment to be picked up at the TRIAD office.
“These protocols will be in place for at least the next few weeks, or until we think it is safe to resume normal,” Donelan said.
Donelan said his medical team is in constant contact with the state Department of Public Health, and is employing the best preventative measures.
“If we wait for the virus to get to Franklin County, it will be too late,” he said. “We are acting now because it is necessary.”
Also on Thursday, the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts announced restrictions on courthouse access for anyone who has traveled to a country (China, Italy, Iran, Japan and South Korea) with a Level 2 or Level 3 travel advisory issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had contact with such travelers or are displaying symptoms. The order continues all jury trials scheduled to begin before April 27 until further order of the court.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-772-0261, ext. 262.