California prison's 1,080 positive covid-19 cases blamed on corrections officials

A California prison that had zero covid-19 cases at the end of May has racked up more than 1,000 during June, prompting officials to set up triage tents outside the facility to keep contagious inmates away from the general population.

As of Tuesday, 1,080 prisoners at San Quentin State Prison had tested positive for the virus, along with 102 employees. The number has doubled in the past week. One death has been linked to the virus, a 71-year-old man who was on Death Row, according to Fox-affiliate KTVU, which broadcasts in the Bay Area.

San Quentin is about 25 miles north of San Francisco.

According to the New York Times, blame has been placed on the corrections department. Claims are that it knowingly brought untested inmates from the California Institution for Men in Chino into San Quentin and was slow to respond to positive cases.

“How San Quentin went from being a prison that had held off the virus for months to a place inundated with sick inmates represents a cautionary tale for the nation’s prison system amid the pandemic,” the Times reported.

“It’s overwhelming them,” legislator Marc Levine said. “It’s a great concern. And now, San Quentin is popping up tents that are air-conditioned on the campus of the prison to make sure inmates have greater physical distance and for medical triage.”

This past weekend, activists and loved ones of inmates demanded the state release all prisoners during a rally outside the prison’s gates.

Many concerns were highlighted, including the close proximity inside the prison and inmates’ inability to social distance, KTVU reported.

Prisons and jails were designed to focus on security. Ventilation is often poor, and access to health care is inconsistent. Prison health care in California has historically been substandard.

Officials have had difficulty enforcing mask-wearing rules and social distancing measures. Not to mention, longstanding prohibitions on cleaning supplies that contain bleach or alcohol have made it difficult for crowded facilities such as San Quentin to meet even basic sanitary standards given that hundreds of inmates share a limited number of toilets, telephones and shower stalls.

On Wednesday, the state is scheduled to start releasing up to 3,500 more prisoners who have six months or less to serve on their sentences in an effort to reduce overcrowding in the state, which is reported to be at 124% capacity.

Prisoners who are completing sentences for domestic violence or another violent or serious crime such as a sex offense are not eligible for the early release.