Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
‘SOS COVID-19’: Virus Spreads Through Jails, Prisons And Immigration Detention Facilities
San Francisco Chronicle: Federal Judge: San Quentin COVID-19 Outbreak Result Of ‘Significant Failure’
A federal judge wiped away tears Friday as he addressed an increasingly disastrous coronavirus outbreak at San Quentin prison, calling the recent transfer of infected prisoners to the facility a “significant failure of policy and planning. ”U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of Oakland said during the hearing that prison officials could still save lives if they act fast in transferring medically vulnerable prisoners to a brand-new facility, use a furlough-like system of releases or allow some inmates to serve their sentences at home under house arrest. (Cassidy and Fagone, 6/22)
The Associated Press: More Than 1,100 Virus Cases Reported Behind Bars In Arizona
The combined total of county jail inmates, state prisoners and federal immigration detainees in Arizona who have tested positive for the coronavirus has surpassed 1,100 cases. Authorities report 496 positive cases among inmates in county jails, 318 among state prisoners and 317 among immigration detainees. More than 90% of the county-jail cases came in Maricopa County. Three-hundred and sixty-nine employees at jails, prisons and immigration detention centers in Arizona also have tested positive, with 147 at state prisons, 131 at detention centers and 91 in county jails. (Billeaud, 6/22)
Houston Chronicle: ‘SOS COVID-19’: Immigrants Fear For Their Lives In Houston Detention Facilities Plagued By Virus
As COVID-19 cases continue to grow across the state and the nation, most of the attention about how the virus has impacted the incarcerated has focused on outbreaks in local jails and state prisons. Federal lockups under Immigration and Customs Enforcement responsibility, such as the Houston facility, have come under scrutiny by the courts, as well as lawmakers who have criticized how the agency is dealing with the pandemic. (Tallet, 6/11)
