Studies: Virus Is Spreading To Communities Near Jails That Are Hot Spots
“These provisional findings are consistent with the hypothesis that arrest and jailing practices are augmenting infection rates in highly policed neighborhoods,” the authors of one study wrote. News on prisons is from Massachusetts, also.
Stateline:
How COVID-19 In Jails And Prisons Threatens Nearby Communities
COVID-19 has raged throughout U.S. jails and prisons, where people live together in close quarters and there is little opportunity for social distancing, a lack of basic sanitary supplies and high rates of chronic disease. While inmates mostly stay behind concrete walls and barbed wire, those barriers can’t contain an infectious disease like COVID-19. Not only can the virus be brought into jails and prisons, but it also can leave those facilities and spread widely into surrounding communities and beyond. (Ollove,7/1)
WBUR:
Exchanging COs For Clinicians, Mass. Makes Changes To Involuntary Addiction Treatment In Prison
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which oversees the prison, said that as of last month, correction officers will maintain the perimeter of the facility and clinical staff work inside. EOPSS said clinically trained, non-uniformed staff will provide supervision and deliver more hours of programming each day. (Becker, 6/30)
