COVID-19 Cases Linked to British Columbia Provincial Jails and Prisons (end-October 2021)

 * Updated 2 November 2021 at 10:05am EDT *

264 Reported COVID-19 Cases Linked to British Columbia Provincial Jails and Prisons as of the end of October 2021 *

Prisoners = 215

Staff =  49

Total = 264

* Data based on figures made publicly available through government, union and media reporting. Due to the quality of the data available, it is possible that there are fewer or additional laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst provincial prisoners and prison staff in British Columbia that have not been publicly disclosed. 

INSTITUTIONS AND CASES

Fraser Regional Correctional Centre

Prisoners = 31

Staff = 5

Total = 36

Source: Globe and Mail (7 March 2021)

North Fraser Pretrial Centre

Prisoners = 1 + 22

Staff = 0 + 7

Total = 30

Sources: Vancouver Sun (25 September 2020) | CTV News (26 February 2021)

Okanagan Correctional Centre

Prisoners = 1 + 1

Staff = 3 + 7 + 1

Total = 13

Sources: CBC News (17 July 2020) | CTV News (14 August 2020) | Global News (14 September 2020) | New Westminster Record (25 January 2021) 

Surrey Pretrial Centre

Prisoners = 0 + 38

Staff = 3 + 1

Total = 42

Sources: News 1130 (24 October 2020) | Tri-City News (14 February 2021)

Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre

Prisoners = 6 

Staff = 0

Total = 6

Sources: Victoria News (5 October 2021)

Unknown Institutions 

Prisoners = 209 (minus 128 cases noted above)

Staff = 35 (minus 10 Okanagan and 3 Surrey staff cases from 2020 above)

Total = 116 

Source: Radio-Canada (16 June 2021) | TriCity News (22 January 2021)

RESEARCH PROJECT AND FUNDING 

The data above was compiled as part of the "COVID-19: Investigating Canada's Carceral Response to the Coronavirus through the Prison Pandemic Partnership" (principal investigator: Kevin Walby, PhD - uWinnipeg | co-investigator: Justin Piché, PhD - uOttawa | partner organization: Canadian Civil Liberties Association) project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The partnership project is housed within the Centre for Access to Information and Justice at the University of Winnipeg.