-December 16,2020-
Cases of COVID 19 are exploding at several local state prisons impacting both inmates, employees who watch over them and the communities that house them.
The state prison system added 8400 new cases in the past two weeks mirroring the alarming surge in communities seen outside the prison walls. Not just those incarcerated are feeling the pain with some 3,000 prison employees who live in nearby towns reported infected.
The increase in prisoner infections across the state has been dramatic in the past 6 weeks (see chart). On Oct 21 there were 433 inmate cases according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Today the statewide number is close to 10,000.
Dramatic increases can be seen locally as well.
According to the state CDCR website -as of December 15 – some 584 prisoners have been infected in the past 14 days at the sprawling Corcoran Substance Abuse Training facility as well as three new deaths. A spike in employee infections at the facility is seen as well with 92 new cases in the past 14 days. This Corcoran facility has over five thousand inmates and 2000 employees.
Cases are up but more modestly at the adjacent Corcoran State Prison with 84 new cases among inmates and 84 affected employees.
Not Pleasant
Leading the state in new infections is Coalinga-based Pleasant Valley State Prison (3000 inmates) where there are 720 inmates who have caught the virus in the past two weeks along with 42 employees.Coalinga continues to suffer the lack of a hospital nearby.
Nearby Avenal State Prison (ASP) who led the state in infections a few months ago, reports 7 new cases and 42 employees with COVID. In June, ASP infected prisoners numbered near 500.
Among the three state prisons in Kings County there are 2136 active COVID cases, reports the county health department. Pleasant Valley is not included since it is just across the county line in Fresno.
The continuing spread among both prisoners and those who guard them has prompted a national commission to recommend the state “prioritize those incarcerated by and working within the criminal justice system for pandemic response, including providing early access to vaccines and personal protective equipment.” They note that the “pandemic exacerbated the risks for police, correctional officers, and others working in the criminal justice system, many of whom occupy roles that place them in harm’s way to protect the public.”
The vaccine recommendation comes from the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice announced earlier this week.
The recommendation to immunize those in the prisons comes just as two new COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed in California including in Kings County in the next few weeks.The commission recommended that inmates and correctional staff be put in a category behind only healthcare workers and highly vulnerable populations such as the elderly in nursing homes.
The commission also recommended early release as part of the response, a notion seconded by prisoner advocates and family members. They are concerned that those behind bars, because of crowded conditions, make them more susceptible to being infected. Some say this amounts to these places becoming ‘super-spreaders‘ in this pandemic – affecting local towns.
Dire conditions
The spread of COVID 19 across local communities is impacting nearby community hospitals’ ability to care for patients including those coming from the prison system.
The largest regional hospital in Tulare/Kings is Kaweah Delta who reported this week “dire conditions” with 261 employees not reporting to work,181 who tested positive for COVID-19 and 80 quarantined because they are living with someone with COVID-19. The Visalia hospital reported it has only a handful of available intensive care beds and 150 people hospitalized – up from 19 in early October. This week the state opened the Porterville Developmental Center’s Porterville Alternate Care Site to help with the local surge in cases.