The labor union that represents correction officers in New York in a letter released Wednesday called on state prison officials to either temporarily suspend visitations or put more stringent rules in place amid the surge of COVID-19 cases over the last several days in New York. 

Among the proposals from the union: requiring visitors and vendors to show either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.

Officials are watching to see if the more contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 will result in a similar uptick in hospitalizations. Preliminary data suggests the variant is more mild, especially for those who have been vaccinated and received booster shots. 

Prisons, like any congregate setting, have seen the virus spread quickly during the nearly two years of the pandemic. 

More than 7,000 members of the New York State Correctional Officers PBA have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic, as have 7,995 incarcerated people. 

"Since the onset of this pandemic, the members of NYSCOPBA have been unable to 'work remotely' to protect their health and well-being, instead being required to work inside prison facilities, exposing themselves to contracting the virus and bringing it home to their loved ones," said Michael Powers, the union's president. "In that time, nearly 8,000 members have contracted COVID and despite the Department’s vaccine-or-test mandates implemented on staff, these facilities continue to be breeding grounds for COVID outbreaks as the mandates do not apply to everyone who enters these buildings."