The ongoing battle against COVID-19 has led the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office to postpone Sunday’s open house and family day, it was announced Tuesday.
The annual event will not be held until 2022.
In a statement, the office, headed by Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr., cited the highly contagious delta variant as the reason for the postponement. The office said an increase in infections, as well as in retirements, has led to “staff constraints” at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility. The Sheriff’s Office oversees the jail.
“The Sheriff’s Office Open House and Family Day is an extremely popular event that is attended by thousands of people,” the Sheriff’s Office said in its statement, adding: “This requires a large amount of staff members to run it safely and effectively; staff members that, due to the staffing shortage, we simply do not have. Therefore, we must cancel the event until next year.”
The Sheriff’s Office did not immediately provide details on the staffing shortage, but said the office is currently recruiting new correction officers for the jail facilities in both Riverhead and Yapank.
A Civil Service exam for the position is being given on Nov. 13. The deadline for registration for the exam is Oct. 6.