One in five US state and federal prisoners tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The rate is more than four times higher than that of the general population, according to data collected by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project.
More than 276,000 detainees were infected and more than 1,700 died, and the spread of the virus behind bars shows no signs of slowing down.
This week, new cases in prisons have reached their highest level since tests began in the spring, far exceeding previous peaks in April and August, with more than 25,000 infections recorded.
Now, the launch of vaccines is a difficult decision for politicians and decision-makers. As the virus spreads uncontrollably behind bars, detainees cannot distance themselves socially and are dependent on the state for their safety and well-being.
It happens when photos of California prison staff appearing online without masks or social distances have appeared online.
More than 276,000 state and federal prisoners have contracted coronavirus, which means that the infection rate is one in five
At least 1,736 died from COVID-19, indicating that the mortality rate is 45% higher than the national rate
South Dakota has the highest rate of infected prisoners, at 6,228 per 10,000, followed by Arkansas and Kansas. Pictured: An inmate is being led out of his Eastern Block death row cell at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California.
Infection rates, as of Tuesday, have been calculated by the AP and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that covers the criminal justice system.
The calculations were based on data collected weekly in prisons in March.
Infection and mortality rates may be even higher, as almost every prison system currently has far fewer prisoners than when the pandemic began, so rates are a conservative estimate based on the largest known population.
Almost every penitentiary system in the country has significantly higher infection rates than the communities around them.
In the facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, one in five prisoners had a coronavirus. Twenty-four state penitentiary systems had even higher rates.
Donte Westmoreland, 26, was recently released from the Lansing Correctional Facility in Kansas, where he caught the virus while serving time on a marijuana charge.
About 5,100 prisoners were infected in Kansas prisons, the third highest rate of COVID-19 in the country, behind only South Dakota and Arkansas.
In Arkansas, where more than 9,700 prisoners tested positive and 50 died, four out of seven had the virus.
“It was like I was sentenced to death,” Westmoreland said.
Westmoreland lived with more than 100 men infected with the virus in an open home, where he regularly woke up to find sick men on the floor, unable to get up on their own, he said.
“People are dying in front of me because of this virus. It’s the scariest sight, he said.
Westmoreland said he sweated, shaking in bed, until he finally recovered six weeks later.
Half of Kansas inmates were infected with COVID-19 – eight times the rate of cases among the general population of the state.
At the national level, one in five prison staff gave positive results, with a morale rate of 0.1%
Donte Westmoreland, 26 (pictured), was infected with COVID-19 while serving at the Lansing Correctional Facility. He recovered six weeks later. Pictured: Westmoreland after release, December 15
Eleven prisoners died, including five at Westmoreland Prison. Of the three prison employees who died in Kansas, two worked at the Lansing Correctional Facility.
Prison workers were also disproportionately affected. In North Dakota, four out of five prison staff received coronavirus. At the national level, it is one of five.
Facilities are often overcrowded and poorly ventilated. Bedroom-style homes, cafes and open-door doors make quarantine almost impossible.
In addition, the prison population is sicker, on average, than the general population, and the medical care behind bars is notoriously insufficient.
At the national level, the mortality rate for COVID-19 among inmates is 45 percent higher than the overall rate.
“If we want to end this pandemic – reduce infection rates, reduce death rates, reduce ICU occupancy rates – we need to address infection rates in correctional facilities,” said Dr. Emily Wang, a professor at Yale School of Medicine. and co. -author of the recent report of the National Academies, said for AP.
“Infections and deaths are extremely high. These are sections of the state and we have to fight it.
Photos of a staff member from the Santa Clara County prison on December 6 appeared on Facebook, spending without masks or social distance (left and right). The county is experiencing a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections in the general population, as well as among the staff of the sheriff’s office and prison inmates.
It happens when the sheriff’s office in Santa Clara County said it is analyzing photos showing the prison staff’s party.
The photos posted on Facebook show at least three of the correctional deputies at an indoor party last weekend, wearing a mask or social distance and in which the partygoers shared a beer bong.
The photos came as the county saw a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections in the general population, as well as among sheriff’s office staff and prison inmates.
Mercury News reported on Thursday that more than 30 photos and videos were posted by the party on December 6 on the profile of a prison deputy who was registered under a pseudonym.
December 6 was the same day that Santa Clara County got into a blockade, which forbade people to gather with others outside their own household.
The photos suggest that more than three households – the assembly limit before the blockade – were at the party.
The sheriff’s office said it did not know about the party and would review the event.
“As a law enforcement agency, we expect our staff to maintain themselves and each other to a higher standard and take seriously the recommendations and guidelines set by public health officials,” the sheriff’s office said. in a statement.
“The behavior described in the Facebook post in question is not representative of these expectations or of the agency as a whole.
“If they are in fact sheriff’s deputies, they are expected to adhere to public health guidelines, as well as to behave in a professional manner at all times, whether or not they are in office. The problem is analyzed.
Correctional deputies accounted for almost two-thirds of the 117 cases registered by COVID-19 since March, involving sheriff’s office staff, as reported in its online public dashboard.
As of Wednesday, 19 correctional deputies had active infections, along with 11 patrol deputies and five civilian employees.