© APA prisoner walks near his crowded living area in Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore, Ala. Brynn Anderson
Doctors are warning that the huge numbers of inmates locked inside large communal cells, often with dozens of other people, a perfect breeding ground for disease.
Amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, doctors across the United States are warning that prisons are a ticking time bomb. Dr. Ross MacDonald, the Chief Medical Officer for Correctional Health Services in New York City,
sent a dire warning to city and state legislators yesterday.
"We who care for those you detain noticed how swiftly you closed your courts in response to COVID-19. This was fundamentally an act of social distancing, a sound strategy in public health.
But the luxury that allows you to protect yourselves, carries with it an obligation to those you detain. You must not leave them in harm's way," he
wrote, ominously adding that, "a storm is coming" and claiming they could no longer look the other way.
While prisons are very good at stopping humans from exiting the premises, they are powerless to stop viruses from entering. And while the traditional image of American jails is that of isolated inmates, perhaps sharing a cell with only one other person, the reality is that huge numbers are actually locked inside large communal cells, often with dozens of other people, a perfect breeding ground for disease. There are around 2.3 million Americans currently incarcerated, and
the prison system is at over 100 percent of its capacity as a whole.
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