A team from the Department of Health was at the Territorial Correctional Facility today to check on why several inmate at the facility are sick.
KHJ News had reported yesterday that the wife of one of the detainees at TCF had visited her husband over the weekend and learned that several detainees in the pre-trial holding block were sick. The woman’s husband told her that the TCF Office was refusing to take the sick individuals to the hospital.
Dr. Sai Fuimaono, head of the Tafuna Community Health Center, said a team from the Environmental Health Division was sent to the TCF today to check on the source of the illness.
He said following the KHJ News report, some inmates were taken to the LBJ Hospital.
The hospital then asked that DOH check the conditions at the TCF to ascertain the source of the illness.
Dr. Fuimaono said they are inspecting living conditions at the TCF that may be contributing to the spread of the illness the inmates have, which includes diarrhea.
Some family members said on Sunday evening an ambulance took one of the inmates who was shaking uncontrollably to the hospital.
Commissioner of Public Safety Lei Sonny Thompson is in Australia and has not responded to emails.
