By David Brand

The only New York City councilmember with a private jail in his district says the multibillion-dollar contractor running the lockup has failed to protect staff and inmates from the coronavirus “wildfire” inside.

So far, 38 inmates and 21 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 inside the 222-bed Queens Detention Facility — up from three people total on April 3 — according to the latest court-ordered report issued by the jail’s warden Tuesday.

The warden, William Zerillo, also sent information in a letter to Councilmember Donovan Richards, who represents the industrial zone near JFK Airport where the jail is located. Zerillo works for GEO Group, one of the nation’s largest private prison firms.

But the information from Zerillo and GEO Group did not alleviate Richards’ concerns about the jailhouse conditions.

“Nothing in that letter gave me assurances that they’re taking this as seriously as they should,” he said. “It seems like this thing has spread like wildfire there, at the expense of workers and the inmates.”

Richards said all inmates should be tested inside the private jail, where defendants await trial or sentencing in federal court.

GEO Group has stopped testing inmates, however, according to its two most recent court-ordered reports. The corporation reported testing 41 people on April 16 and again on April 21.

“I believe every detainee has to be tested,” Richards said. “No one should be in there without being tested. We don’t want to lose lives.”

The information from GEO Group came in response to a letter that Richards sent after the Eagle first reported on the spread of the coronavirus inside the Queens Detention Facility’s seven open dormitories.

‘On top of each other’

Six inmates who have contacted the Eagle to describe the worsening conditions in the Queens Detention Facility say social distancing is all but impossible because they sleep on bunk beds. “Everyone’s coughing, sneezing on top of each other,” one inmate said. “You cannot do social distancing in this jail because everyone is so on top of each other.”

The inmates also said there has been a severe staff shortage — including a single correction officer patrolling two separate units — as employees get sick or otherwise call out. GEO Group reported that 21 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 and six have recovered.

“A lot of the hard-working folks there deserve to be protected as well,” Richards said. “They live in our community; they could be asymptomatic and carrying the virus around.”