Correctional visitations can resume in San Mateo County

Movement into the state’s orange tier has permitted visitations at San Mateo County’s two correctional facilities to restart, allowing families and friends to visit their inmate loved ones after a year apart due to the pandemic.

“Resuming in-person visits is part of our ongoing efforts to balance the need to protect incarcerated individuals and our staff from COVID and to provide the inmates opportunities to maintain relationships with their loved ones,” Sheriff Carlos Bolanos said in a statement.

For the first time in more than a year since correctional facilities ended in-person visits due to the pandemic, families and friends now have the opportunity to see their loved ones booked in either the Maguire Correctional Facility or Maple Street Correctional Facility.

Limited in-person visits resumed on Tuesday, March 23, thanks to the ongoing decline of COVID-19 cases in San Mateo County, Assistant Sheriff Alma Zamora said in an email. The county was the first in the Bay Area to enter the state’s orange tier, signaling a moderate risk of spreading the virus.

Visitors are required to wear a mask at all times when at the facilities meeting with inmates across glass in the Maguire facility and a tablet screen at Maple Street. Before the 45-minute visit, each visitor has their temperature taken and must sanitize when entering and leaving.

Visitations are limited to one visitor per inmate and must be booked a day in advance online. Time slots are available between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Detective Rosemary Blankswade, the Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, called the in-person visits a “step in the right direction” and highlighted the department’s interests in following directions from the county health officer.

Each visiting room, including inside jail housing units, is disinfected before and after visits, reducing scheduling flexibility, Blankswade said.

“We know how important those visits are on both sides,” Blankswade said. “After the pandemic and everything going on, everyone is at a high stress level and we have the desire to facilitate that as best as we can.”

Before the tier change, inmates were provided with tablets to facilitate visual conversations with their loved ones, Zamora said. Officials still encourage families to use the online visitation platform.

Zamora also noted in her email that inmates are required to wear masks when outside their cells, are socially distanced by units and are tested for the virus every two weeks. Hand sanitizer has also been made available.

“COVID-19 has been a difficult and trying time for everyone in San Mateo County, including the individuals incarcerated at the Maguire Correctional Facility and Maple Street Correctional Facility,” Zamora said. “We are proud that in collaboration with Correctional Health Services, we have been able to manage the disease inside our facilities.”

Last August a group of inmates at the Maguire Correctional Facility launched a 10-day hunger strike protesting the price of commissary merchandise and demanding free phone calls and video to loved ones during the pandemic.

The Sheriff’s Office responded to both demands by working with its vendor to lower commissary prices and offering two 30-minute video visitation sessions per week, free of charge.

Recognizing the risk of spreading the virus in the facilities, the county has also been working with the Corrections Divisions to vaccinate inmate populations. Of the roughly 713 inmates in both facilities, 325 received the vaccine last week, Carlos Morales, director of Correctional Health Services said in a statement.

“All 713 inmates at the Maguire and Maple Street correctional facilities have been offered the vaccine,” Morales said, noting vaccinations are voluntary. “We continue to offer vaccination to newly booked inmates and others who may change their minds about receiving the vaccine.”

Visit smcsheriff.com/inmate-visitation-maple-street-correctional-center for more information regarding correctional facility visitations.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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