MANCHESTER, NH – The covid outbreak at the Valley Street jail, which began in September, is under control with no cases among staff and only two infections in the 267 inmates housed there as of Monday, according to Willie Scurry, jail superintendent.
The most recent report sent out by the state Department of Health and Human Services, dated Dec. 8, 2021, listed the jail among 24 outbreaks across the state. The majority of the outbreaks are in nursing homes while, along with the Valley Street jail (formally known as the Hillsborough County House of Corrections) there are three other detention facilities – Grafton County Department of Corrections, the New Hampshire State Prison for Men and the Strafford County jail – listed with outbreaks.
DHHS reported last week that there were 152 resident cases and 11 among staff at Valley Street. However, Scurry said those numbers are cumulative since the beginning of the outbreak on Sept. 7, 2021.
“There is no new outbreak in HCDOC,” he said.
He explained anyone admitted to the jail is given a rapid COVID test. If they test positive, they immediately are placed in the Isolation Unit for 10 days; if negative, they go to Classification/Intake Quarantine, where within 5 to 7 days of admission, they are tested via PCR, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) a molecular test that looks for genetic material (ribonucleic acid or RNA) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The PCR test is the gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19 but results take longer to obtain.
Those inmates are tested again on the 14th day of their admission, prior to being classified and transferred to another housing unit in the jail.
As of Dec. 13, 2021, two inmates were on quarantine status for refusing testing.
Scurry said even though the numbers are down, DHHS has not closed the outbreak status as of Monday.
He also explained that any inmate who enters the building or is in Classification/Intake Quarantine who tests positive does not, per NH DHHS, count toward declaring the jail to be in outbreak status.
“The reason the current outbreak of Sept. 7, 2021, is still open is because of recently having three active cases and DHHS considers three positives to equate to Outbreak Status,” he said.
He said the staff continues self-monitoring and continues to follow guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and NH DHHS, including testing, quarantining, isolating and contact tracing.
He said the jail continues to conduct weekly testing of inmates and the jail’s Health Service Administrator continues to have weekly meetings with DHHS representatives via Zoom or phone conference.
He said the two inmates who tested positive for Covid will soon end their isolation periods, one on Dec. 15, 2021, and the other one Dec. 17, 2021.
The jail has had two prior covid outbreaks. The first was closed on Feb. 11, 2021; 114 inmates contracted the virus, and 54 staff members were infected.
The second outbreak was closed on March 19, 2021; 20 inmates were infected along with two staff members.
Scurry said the jail has had several vaccination clinics over the past year. “The next mobile vaccination clinic for staff and inmates is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021,” he said.
