Supporters of incarcerated people gathered in front of the Department of Correction (DOC) headquarters in Wethersfield Wednesday to demand that the Lamont administration and the DOC 鈥渄evelop a comprehensive and transparent plan to address COVID-19 in jails and prisons in 海角换妻.鈥�
They say that conditions for incarcerated people 鈥� who are disproportionately Black, brown and poor 鈥� are leaving them 鈥渋n harm鈥檚 way.鈥�
鈥淭he DOC isn鈥檛 doing anything to prevent the spread of COVID-19,鈥� said Kenyatta Muzzanni, director of organizing at the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice, a social justice community organization.
Muzzanni quoted a statement from an incarcerated person at the Cheshire Correctional Institution: 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had hot water for weeks in the prison 鈥� it feels like a petri dish in here, the cleaning staff don鈥檛 have PPE and use diluted cleaning supplies, and the medical staff don鈥檛 sanitize before or after clients 鈥� they don鈥檛 even wear gloves to take blood. The COs even misuse the COVID-19 guidelines to keep people in their cell for longer.鈥�
Another supporter, Claudia Cupe of Enfield, came to the demonstration to support her two cousins.
鈥淸The DOC is] co-mingling the negative people with the positive people, and that is just not safe for my loved ones that is incarcerated,鈥� Cupe said.
Stefan Napoleon voiced concern about his 68-year-old grandmother, who he said was in jail for a DUI.
鈥淪he was supposed to go to a court hearing, but she had COVID so she couldn鈥檛 go, and now she has to wait out another month to go to court,鈥� Napoleon said. 鈥淪he has her vaccines, but she never had COVID until she went to jail. It鈥檚 crazy.鈥�
According to Katal, as of Aug. 28, more than 90% of the state鈥檚 jail and prison population has tested positive at one point for COVID-19, totaling almost 9,700.
Early in the pandemic, experts from the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Public Health at Yale to put a plan in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 among the incarcerated population.
In a written statement, the Department of Correction said it continues efforts to minimize the spread of COVID, including mass bi-weekly testing and offering vaccinations. The DOC said the positivity rate for the state鈥檚 incarcerated population remains 鈥渂elow the positivity rate in the greater community.鈥�
