Prisoners Are Being Transferred Directly Into A Coronavirus Outbreak At Rikers Island Jail
At least 38 people at Rikers have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, including 21 incarcerated individuals and 17 employees, NBC reported on Sunday. A New York City Department of Correction investigator who had tested positive for the coronavirus died last week. Corrections officers pepper-sprayed eight inmates at Rikers last weekend when they tried to go to a clinic to get their temperatures checked after learning about a potential COVID-19 case in their unit, The City reported. Defense lawyers have said that people incarcerated at Rikers sleep an arm’s length away from one another, are served food on dirty trays, and are being denied medical treatment when they request it. The union that represents corrections officers at Rikers and other NYC jails has said its members don’t have enough masks or gloves or access to COVID-19 testing.Â
Article source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/prisoners-transfer-rikers-island-jail-coronavirus_n_5e7a7a8cc5b620022ab2b393