Paper by Joseph Amon. Health and Human Rights Journal.
March 23, 2020.
Detention facilities are particularly of concern because of crowding, the proportion of vulnerable people detained, and often limited medical care resources. People in detention facilities cannot achieve the physical distancing needed to effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19. Showers, toilets, and sinks are shared. Food preparation and food service is communal. Staff arrive and leave, providing a link between the community and the detention center, often—because of limited testing and asymptomatic infection—without adequate screening. Yet, more than three months since COVID-19 emerged, the US CDC lists guidance for schools, childcare centers, colleges, workplaces, faith-based organizations, community events, homeless shelters, healthcare professionals and retirement communities but not for jails, prisons, or immigration detention centers.
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