Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Than 5,000 Correction Officers Have Tested Positive For COVID-19 In Hint Of Widespread Problem
ABC News: Over 5,000 Corrections Officers Have Contracted COVID-19
As the novel coronavirus ravages prisons around the country, over 5,000 state and federal correctional officers have tested positive for the virus, data compiled by ABC News shows. There have been 5,002 cases, including over 4,600 state correctional officers that have contracted the virus, with New York being the state with the most correctional officer cases. (Barr, 5/5)
Kaiser Health News: When Prisons Are ‘Petri Dishes,’ Inmates Can’t Guard Against COVID-19, They Say
On April 6, an inmate named Dennis stayed up late at Indiana’s Plainfield Correctional Facility. He wrote to his wife, Lisa, and told her he was scared. “I can tell you right now, with nearly 100% certainty, that I am going to get this virus,” he wrote. Lisa said Dennis suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which could cause complications if he contracts COVID-19. (Harper, 5/6)
San Francisco Chronicle: Coronavirus And Jails: California Supreme Court Rejects Prisoner Release Lawsuit
The California Supreme Court refused Monday to order state officials to release large numbers of inmates from local jails and juvenile detention centers to ease crowded conditions that spread the coronavirus. The court redirected inmate advocates to the counties that run the facilities, but did not rule out further lawsuits against the state.The claims in the statewide lawsuit “call for prompt attention in a manner that considers the diversity of local conditions throughout the state,” the justices said in a unanimous order. (Egelko, 5/4)
Express News: Most Inmates At Bexar County Jail Who Test Positive Show No Symptoms Of Coronavirus As Outbreak Claims Another Life
About 75 percent of the inmates at Bexar County Jail who have contracted the novel coronavirus showed no symptoms, partly explaining how the outbreak there has spread rapidly. The latest figures come a day after an inmate in the jail’s custody died, the second death linked to the downtown lockup, where hundreds of inmates and deputies have tested positive for COVID-19. (Eaton, 5/5)
