Congress members have urged President Donald Trump to reduce the federal prison population as a measure to curb the spread of the Chinese Communist Party virus (CCP virus), commonly known as the novel coronavirus. This comes as several states have begun releasing inmates to protect its prison and jail populations.
“Preventing the rapid spread of COVID-19 is the country’s top priority and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of people in prisons, jails, and detention facilities is a critical part of that effort,” the letter read. “As President, that duty and responsibility falls even more squarely within your purview.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has also been urging the Trump administration to reduce the federal prison population as a measure to protect those incarcerated and prison employees from the CCP virus.
“The public health concerns presented by coronavirus in confined spaces creates an urgent need to ensure the health of those incarcerated, particularly those who are elderly and those with chronic health conditions,” the letter read.
The letter also calls for the Justice Department (DOJ) to direct the U.S. Marshals Service to release inmates in their custody who may be vulnerable to the CCP virus.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment on the ACLU letter. The BOP declined to comment on the letter.
At least four states have begun releasing inmates from their jails in an attempt to reduce the risk of spreading the virus following reports that infections have started to appear.
His decision comes after a prisoner and a corrections officer tested positive for the virus in the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail. De Blasio said during a press conference on Thursday that eight other prisoners have shown symptoms and have been moved to isolation in the communicable disease unit.
Concerns About Spread in Detention
Chris Beyrer, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Epoch Times that the risks of people contracting respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 are higher in prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers.“These are very crowded, often not clean facilities. Social distancing and staying six feet or two meters away from people is often impossible,” he said. “[In] many prisons, jails, and detention centers, the beds are two feet apart. There’s no physical way that people could stay six feet apart from each other.”
A lack of access to essential sanitary products such as hand sanitizer and soap is also a concern as it also increases inmates’ risk of contracting the disease, Beyrer said. In prisons, hand sanitizers are banned in order to prevent inmates from drinking the product due to its alcohol content. Meanwhile, inmates have limited access to soap because many prisons demand a co-payment for such items. Inmates often rely on family members to bring them soap, toilet paper, and other personal sanitary products.
“But, you know, because of COVID-19 many prisons and jails are not allowing family visits. So all of that stops for people,” he added.
Other reasons for the greater risks of contracting the disease include the prevalence of older inmates or inmates with chronic health conditions, the widespread presence of mental health conditions among the U.S. prison population compared to the free population, and increased stress and anxiety in prisons can weaken their immune system, Beyrer said.
Meanwhile, there are also concerns over whether prisons and jails are prepared to deal with an outbreak of the CCP virus within the system. Beyrer said he believes the system is not prepared, saying that the prisons’ infirmary is often not equipped to do intensive care and ventilation needed to deal with serious complications of COVID-19, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
“A substantial proportion of people will have [ARDS]. It has about a 30 percent mortality [rate]—a highly lethal complication. And, you know, if somebody needed ventilation, they typically would be sent to a civilian hospital again with two guards typically,” he said. “So imagine how quickly an outbreak would tie up prison staff. I mean, that would be an extremely difficult thing to be able to try and provide.”
“As part of the Pandemic Influenza contingency plan, all cleaning, sanitation, and medical supplies have been inventoried at every one of its 122 BOP facilities, and an ample amount of supply is on hand and ready to be distributed or moved to any facility as deemed necessary,” a BOP spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. “The Bureau of Prisons is prepared to address any supply concerns if necessary.”
The BOP did not respond to The Epoch Times’ queries about the two cases but said they were clarifying how they were reporting their numbers based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.
Beyrer suggested a number of ways to minimize the risks of spread including reducing the population of people in prisons, jails, and immigration detention, consider early release for the elderly and infirm inmates who are not security threats, stop co-pays for soap and increase cleaning supplies in correctional facilities and detention centers, and prioritize personal protective equipment for prison staff who may introduce COVID-19 into prisons from the community.
