[Pnews] Outbreak of Covid-19 at CIW After Prison Officials Ignored Calls for Prevention

[Prisoner News]

For Immediate Release — May 14, 2020

Outbreak of Covid-19 at CIW After Prison Officials Ignored Calls for
Prevention

Contact: Daniel Trautfield, California Coalition for Women Prisoners
dtrautfield at gmail.com

*CHINO, CA*––On May 13th, CDCR released a statement identifying a new
outbreak of Covid-19 at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in
Chino, California. Less than five miles away, at the California Institution
for Men (CIM), the disease has swept through the population, with 398
confirmed cases and at least five deaths.

While CDCR has yet to release the number of new cases in the women's
prison, advocates at the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP)
have heard from incarcerated individuals that more than 50 individuals have
been made aware of their positive statuses, as hundreds more wait to hear
their results. One incarcerated individual who tested positive stated:
"Almost my entire unit just tested positive. Some of them are canteen
workers, kitchen workers, and workers who have been sewing masks. People
who interact with everybody. We are terrified. This entire prison needs to
be tested."

Since mid-March, advocates have been demanding action to prevent an
outbreak at CIW. In letters to prison and state officials, CCWP exposed
dangerous conditions at CIW, including a lack of access to protective and
preventive supplies and a blatant disregard by prison staff of CDCR's own
policies. Further, the state refused to listen to advocates and public
health experts who warned that the only way to prevent outbreaks in prison
is to reduce population density by expediting releases, especially for
those at highest risk of the deadly effects of Covid-19.

While CDCR claims it instructed prisons to "conduct additional
deep-cleaning efforts in high-traffic, high-volume areas" and to institute
social distancing practices "wherever possible,"  incarcerated people
indicate that CIW staff failed to implement such policies and that social
distancing is impossible in prison. In California's overcrowded prisons,
all spaces are high-traffic areas, but people report that not even the
showers at CIW are being regularly cleaned or disinfected. Similarly, while
guards were instructed to wear masks and social distance, CCWP continues to
receive reports of guards refusing to adhere to these policies.

The devastating, needless deaths at CIM present a dire warning for prison
administration and the State of California. The state must expedite release
for vulnerable populations. At the same time, elected officials must ensure
that CDCR goes beyond advertising preventative measures and actually
implements meaningful, life-saving policies, including widespread testing.

###
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/ppnews_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20200514/3683031e/attachment.htm>