At least 30,000 inmates and prison staff in the United States have contracted the new coronavirus, according to data released on Wednesday, which is contributing to the ongoing increase in the number of cases outside the initial major outbreaks of the pandemic in the country. About 21,000 inmates and 9,000 agents are confirmed cases, according to figures compiled by the University of California Law School in Los Angeles. Among them, 285 detainees and 34 employees died.
Official statistics lag behind these figures independently gleaned by researchers.
In a report released Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) counted 4,893 inmates and 2,778 members of the prison service infected as of April 28, in 420 prisons and detention centers in 32 states. According to this study, 88 prisoners and fifteen contaminated agents died.
These figures undoubtedly greatly underestimate the extent of contagion in prisons, as the authors of the report warn, because almost a third of the jurisdictions consulted have not responded, and because many of the contaminated prisoners are not tested.
In the CDC study, half of the prisons reported cases only among officers and not among prisoners.
“Since the agents move daily between penitentiary establishments and their quarters, they could be an important source of introduction of the virus into establishments”, write the authors, who soberly note that “many establishments do not offer tests to their employees “.
Prisons combine the factors favoring the pandemic: overcrowded cells, overworked staff, prisoners often suffering from preexisting pathologies, difficulty in disinfecting regularly.
In April, a prison in Marion, Ohio, reached the top of the most affected U.S. facilities, including retirement homes, with more than 80% of its approximately 2,500 inmates and 175 prison staff tested positive.
–
