Incarceration and COVID-19: Recommendations to Curb COVID-19 Disease Transmission in Prison Facilities and Surrounding Communities

Lauren Jeanne Natoli, Kathy Linh Vu, Adam Carl Sukhija-Cohen, Whitney Engeran-Cordova, Gabriel Maldonado, Scott Galvin, William Arroyo and Cynthia Davis
Additional contact information
Lauren Jeanne Natoli: Public Health Division, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA 90046, USA
Kathy Linh Vu: Public Health Division, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA 90046, USA
Adam Carl Sukhija-Cohen: Public Health Division, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA 90046, USA
Whitney Engeran-Cordova: Public Health Division, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA 90046, USA
Gabriel Maldonado: TruEvolution, Riverside, CA 92501, USA
Scott Galvin: City of North Miami City Council, Miami, FL 33161, USA
William Arroyo: California Rehabilitation Oversight Commission, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Sacramento, CA 95811, USA
Cynthia Davis: College of Medicine & College of Science and Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-7

Abstract: Overcrowding can increase the risk of disease transmission, such as that of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), within United States prisons. The number of COVID-19 cases among prisoners is higher than that among the general public, and this disparity is further increased for prisoners of color. This report uses the example case of the COVID-19 pandemic to observe prison conditions and preventive efforts, address racial disparities for people of color, and guide structural improvements for sustaining inmate health during a pandemic in four select states: California, New York, Illinois, and Florida. To curb the further spread of COVID-19 among prisoners and their communities, safe public health practices must be implemented including providing personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing of staff and inmates, disseminating culturally and language appropriate information regarding the pandemic and preventive precautions, introducing social distancing measures, and ensuring adequate resources to safely reintegrate released prisoners into their communities.

Keywords: COVID-19; incarceration; health disparities; racial disparities; public health; disease transmission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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