Warren Tribune Chronicle: Pandemic in prison: Unsanitary conditions, fear of reporting described at facilities

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According to numbers released Saturday by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, 3,845 inmates and 358 staff members in prisons operated by the DRC have tested positive for COVID-19. About 71,000 people are in Ohio’s jails and prisons, including 50,000 in prisons alone, putting the state at 130 percent capacity, according to numbers reported by the Justice Action Network and its President and Executive Director Holly Harris.

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And despite the release of 205 inmates ordered by Gov. Mike DeWine to curb the overcrowding in some prisons, that isn’t nearly enough, Harris said.

“We do think DeWine needs to get more aggressive. We think it will get worse before it gets better. One thing you can’t lock in a cell is a disease. Some think if it spreads in jails or prisons it will be confined there, but they don’t understand how the disease spreads. Look at the numbers: In some facilities, more corrections officers have tested positive than prisoners. It flows in and out of prison, and any hotbed will impact the community,” Harris said.

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Harris said inmates and staff members deserve better and understandably are uncomfortable reporting to work where they can’t socailly distance and are at a higher risk of infection.

“At some point, we will see the consequences of our bad policies, our decision to pack prisons full of sick people with addiction and mental health issues, and it is really, really scary,” Harris said.

https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2020/04/pandemic-in-prison/