How Covid19 outbreaks in prisons are making the pandemic worse for everyone
The Covid19 outbreak is creating havoc everywhere, and things are getting worse in prisons. It is an area where various resources are already restricted by authorities keeping the jail rules and security in mind. The spread of infection has not spared this area also, which is proving challenging for the jail administration and authorities and prisoners. The number of deaths due to this pandemic is three times more than the average number of deaths in the country. Many factors lead to these high numbers. The overcrowded prisons make it impossible to have any sort of physical distancing throughout the day. Apart from that, the sanitary conditions in prisons are not up to the standards, and this can also trigger many cases in the long run. This has made the authorities more worried.
It is difficult for authorities to keep prisoners in separate places due to security concerns. In this situation, it is difficult to control such pandemics inside prisons. Many people get in and out of prisons, including authorities and staff members. This can spread the infection beyond the premises and take it to other communities.
Case rates significantly high in prisons
The cases inside prisons are soaring, and even the death rate is significantly higher than the national average. The case rate is 5 times higher than the average, according to officials. Experts believe that the case rates maybe even more than what is generally accepted as the testing is not done evenly across all facilities. Wherever mass testing campaigns were held, the infection rates were higher than the published figures.
Experts also point out another problem with prisons. The jail cycling of prisoners is also leading to a high rate of infection across other communities. When they are arrested, people are exposed to the virus as they are cycled through the jail. After they get out of jail, they reach their homes and spread the virus to their community.
Difficult to maintain physical distance in prisons
Due to its design and working methodology, prisons cannot maintain physical distancing, and this can lead to high case rates. Not only that, even the sanitary supplies are not adequate in this situation, and this is also contributing to the growth in cases. The availability of face masks and implementing strict rules in this regard is yet another problem inside prisons. All these factors lead to a higher number of cases than average.