COVID-19 Exposes Need for Progressive Criminal Justice Reform.

COVID-19 Exposes Need for Progressive Criminal Justice Reform. Am J Public Health. 2020 Apr 30;:e1-e2 Authors: Nowotny K, Bailey Z, Omori M, Brinkley-Rubinstein L Abstract Modeling conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculates that as many as 160 to 214 million people in the United States could become infected by the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19) and that as many as 200 000 to 1.7 million may die from COVID-19.1 Prisons and jails are amplifiers of infectious diseases because of overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions and will most certainly contribute to these estimates. COVID-19 outbreaks have already been identified in New York City and Cook County, Illinois, jails, with infection rates at the Rikers Island jail complex far exceeding community rates. In response, correctional systems are implementing changes to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including reducing jail and prison admissions and releasing people from facilities. In tandem, jails and prisons must also initiate facility-level policies to help stop the spread of COVID-19. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 29, 2020: e1-e2. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305707). PMID: 32352850 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Am J Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Am J Public Health Source Type: research