Kid criminals in semi-lockdown at Brisbane Youth Detention Centre
Kid criminals are being let out of their rooms to exercise in small amounts as part of a semi-lockdown of the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre. It comes as a new cohort of replacement staff struggle with the drain of wearing personal protective equipment.
QLD Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Kid criminals are being let outside of their rooms for small amounts of exercise during a semi-lockdown of Brisbane Youth Detention Centre as new staff struggle in personal protective equipment.
The centre was thrown into disarray and locked down when a 77-year-old female staff supervisor tested positive to coronavirus last week.
The infection spread with a total of five staff and five of their family members now testing positive.
No children at the detention centre have tested positive. Authorities have tracked down 91 of 94 of juveniles who were discharged during the period the staff member was at the centre.
Qld coronavirus: Latest update on state’s COVID-19 status
Bunnings names list of Brisbane, Ipswich stores where it is asking customers to wear face masks
Complete breakdown of southeast Queensland’s new COVID-19 cluster
As a result, the centre has been placed on a “semi-lockdown” and the usual detention centre staff have been replaced with corrective service officers and youth justice staff, according to the Together Union.
The union‘s secretary Alex Scott said staff were self-isolating for 14 days and hoped there wouldn’t be further positives as it could increase their time off work.
“Apart from identifying where it came from, identifying what is the real patient zero, the staff are reasonably comfortable,” Mr Scott said.
“It is kind of complicated because the kids are in semi-lockdown. They are getting out of the cells, or the rooms, a bit.
“But there is now a high-level of PPE being used so that just makes the job harder and more physically draining because you are just wearing gloves and gowns and face screens. It just makes the job more difficult.”
Mr Scott said staff were not able to do diversion and education programs with the children.
“We (the union) haven’t spoken to the kids but our expectation is they are going to be finding it frustrating,” he said.
“They are getting out of the room and getting some exercise but they’re doing it on a rotational basis.
“They’re units, small units, rather than one big centre.
“One can go and get some physical exercise out of unit and then come back in. And they can have some physical exercise with each other, like ping pong, but it’s not as harsh a lockdown as putting them in their room and locking the door.
“There is some interaction on a unit by unit basis.”
Mr Scott said the staff who tested positive were “not travelling well”.
“They’ve just got corona and their family has just got corona from work so they’re not great,” he said.
“None of them are travelling well.”