PENDLETON — After confirming its first case of the virus on July 8, Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton is now home to the largest outbreak of COVID-19 at any workplace or prison in the state, and little is being done to address the situation.

According to the latest numbers provided Wednesday, Aug. 12, by the Oregon Department of Corrections, the prison has 180 cases among its nearly 1,700 inmates and an additional 16 cases among its 450 staff members.

In total, roughly 48% of inmates who have been tested for the virus have been confirmed as positive, and 27 others are suspected to have the virus and are being “medically isolated.”

As the virus continues to spread inside the prison’s walls, loved ones of those incarcerated have continued to call for additional protections and early release of some inmates to address the outbreak.

Ka’iulani Kaimana Batala’s husband is incarcerated at EOCI and she was one of about a dozen individuals who gathered outside the Pendleton prison on July 25 to protest the state’s inaction.

“Having the whole pandemic all at once, with all of these social movements happening, why wouldn’t you look toward the most vulnerable of the population?” she said. “But if you are keeping these systems in place and you are doing these things, why are you not doing it in the most safe and conscious way?”

When the virus began to spread through the state in March, the Oregon Department of Corrections said it implemented additional sanitation protocols, began screening staff and inmates, required face coverings for staff when unable to keep 6 feet of distance from others, and encouraged social distancing, among other steps.

Once the virus entered EOCI, corrections officials said the prison was testing and screening all symptomatic inmates, isolating and quarantining those believed to have the virus or had come in contact with it, and conducting contact tracing investigations on those who tested positive.

When asked if additional steps would be taken at the prison, Oregon Department of Corrections Communications Manager Jennifer Black stated in an Aug. 10 email that the health and safety of corrections employees and inmates was the “highest priority” and the prison would continue to follow current guidelines.

Meanwhile, multiple lawsuits have been filed by inmates throughout the state’s prisons, including at least one at EOCI, with various allegations of dangerous living conditions and those guidelines not being followed to begin with.

The only recent COVID-19 policy change within state prisons was including all inmates in the requirement to wear face coverings when unable to maintain 6 feet of distance, as of Aug. 12.

But loved ones of those incarcerated continue to advocate for a mandate that removes the 6 feet of distance qualifier altogether, citing reports from those inside that guards aren’t wearing masks in housing units despite the state’s own admission that social distancing isn’t currently possible in prisons.

“It’s bad for the inmates and they’re who I care about the most, but the guards are the ones who can bring it in and take it back out to the community,” said Lydia Jarrell, who also protested on July 25 in support of her husband, who is incarcerated at the Pendleton prison.

The Oregonian reported in April that state corrections officials told Gov. Kate Brown that they would need to release 5,800 inmates, roughly 40% of the state’s prison population, in order to allow for social distancing within them.

To date, Brown has commuted the sentences of only 57 inmates, less than 1% of the state’s prison population.

Some programs administered by outside contractors that nonviolent offenders can typically participate in to reduce sentences have also been stalled during the pandemic, leading to longer sentences for some and contributing to the overcrowded conditions of the state’s prisons that are conducive to the virus’ spread.

While releasing inmates from prison also requires local community corrections resources and that those individuals have appropriate housing accommodations in place, opponents to releasing more inmates have also claimed mass releases could lead to a spike in crime.

“Everyone always wants to have an argument of, ‘We can’t just let criminals out into society,’” said Kaimana Batala. “But there are criminals everywhere.”

The American Civil Liberties Union published a study on July 27 that found no correlation between the number of prisoners released and a change in crime rates from last year to this year after analyzing data from various cities that differed in the number of people released during the pandemic.

Loved ones also have concerns that the case numbers don’t reflect the reality of the outbreak inside.

Inmates can be tested for the virus if they show symptoms or come in contact with another individual who tested positive, but loved ones say some inside are hiding symptoms out of fear of being placed in cells usually reserved for punitive punishment or being transferred from the prison altogether if they test positive.

“Most of them don’t want to get tested because they don’t want to get shipped out,” Jarrell said.

Black stated that only celled housing units are being used at EOCI for isolating inmates and a majority of transfers have ceased except for required court appearances for resentencing or end of sentence releases. However, Black confirmed some inmates are being transported to Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville to isolate after testing positive.

“EOCI has limited space on the medical isolation housing unit,” Black stated. “Coffee Creek has a medical isolation unit where (adults in custody) are transferred until they pass all of the medical protocols and are cleared to be transferred back to EOCI.”

Nonetheless, Jarrell said her husband told her he experienced mild symptoms, including loss of his sense of taste and smell, before recovering after about three weeks. But he refused to be tested in that time due to concerns of how he may be treated if he was confirmed positive.

“I was just worried sick about it,” Jarrell said.

With prison officials relying on the same guidelines that didn’t prevent the virus from spreading in the first place to now slow it down, and Brown having punted on releasing enough inmates to address overcrowding, those with loved ones on the inside are growing more frustrated by their lack of urgency.

“I just want my family to be safe,” Jarrell said. “I want my son safe, I want my mom safe, and I really want my husband safe. I wish Kate Brown or somebody would step up the plate.”