According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, a joint study by the Associated Press and the non-profit online news organization Marshall Project revealed that about 20% of prisoners in American prisons have been infected with the novel coronavirus.
According to data compiled daily since March, more than 275,000 prisoners in the United States have been infected with the virus since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The report pointed out that the United States remains the country most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and although the United States has begun vaccination, the outlook for American prisoners is not optimistic.
This week, the number of positive COVID-19 cases reached its highest level since spring, surpassing the peaks in April and August.
Homer Venters, former chief medical officer at Rikers Island Jail in New York City and now senior researcher in community-facing correctional health services, noted that the data is clearly underestimated because most prisons do not provide universal regular testing.
He pointed out that many prisoners did not receive proper medical care.
The results of the survey show that the infection rate in prisons in the United States is four times that of the general population, because social distancing is impossible in prisons, and dormitories and canteens are usually overcrowded and poorly ventilated.
Screenshot of the “Marshall Plan” tweets, a nonprofit online news organization
“I still encounter this situation in prisons and detention centers: when people get sick, they are not only not being examined, but also not taken care of. So their condition is much worse than it is.
He also pointed out that prisoners were “impossible” to be vaccinated before vulnerable groups and “people who have not committed any crimes”.
Currently, in seven U.S. states, inmates are listed as a priority group along with others living in crowded settings such as nursing homes and long-term care facilities.”
The Marshall Plan “found that 19 other states have placed inmates in the second phase of vaccination, while the remaining states do not mention inmates or correctional personnel in vaccination plans.
According to the real-time global statistics system of COVID-19 released by Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 6 p.m. Eastern Time on December 20, a total of 17,812,136 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 317,469 deaths have been reported in the United States.
In the past 24 hours, 219,137 new cases have been confirmed and 2,157 new deaths have been reported in the United States.
