New York City will release around 300 non-violent inmates from Rikers Island in an effort to stem the CCP virus from spreading, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.
The mayor also said he wants to release those inmates who are over the age of 70 or who have any of the five preexisting health conditions that make them most vulnerable to the CCP virus, based on advice by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Pregnant women should also be monitored as they are known to be at risk with severe viral illness, however to date data on COVID-19 has not shown increased risk.
“My strong view is that at this point, I want to follow the exact same categories that I heard from Dr. Anthony Fauci in terms of those who are most in danger, and obviously Dr. Fauci has done an extraordinary job during this crisis, leading this country with the best information and guidance on how to address coronavirus,” de Blasio said.
“Dr. Fauci told me last week that anyone over 70 years old or anyone with one of those five major preexisting conditions, those were the people who would most likely be in danger. This is my view. No one over 70, no one with any of those five preexisting conditions, should be in our jail system right now.”
The mayor noted that he will be working through some “very intense complicated legal issues case by case,” and that he does not have the direct power to release everyone in that category, adding, “That can only be done with the approval of the state of New York or a district attorney.”
“But that category of people, those in immediate danger because of the specific nature of coronavirus, I strongly believe they all should be released and we are working through those details immediately,” he said.
There are just over 5,000 people in New York jails and the city has previously released 75 other prisoners in relation to the spread of the virus.