Inmates and their relatives have reported that they haven’t seen the increase in Sanitation promised

After the department announced an employee had tested positive this week, Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Timothy Ward said in a statement that the department would respond with “all available resources to help prevent the potential introduction and spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) into our facilities.” But corrections officials declined to reveal which prison the employee worked at, citing “security and HIPAA.”

HIPAA, the federal medical privacy law, does not apply to employers and shouldn’t keep the prison system from saying the name of the prison where the infected employee works, experts said. 

At a time when federal health officials have recommended social distancing, along with limitations on the size of gatherings and meetings, public health experts and prison advocates have expressed worry that people serving time are uniquely vulnerable to the spread of the coronavirus.

"People in custody cannot protect themselves,” Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU’s Georgia Chapter, said in a statement this week. “This situation makes it even more urgent for state and local officials to implement procedures to protect all people who are in our prisons and jails from being exposed to and contracting the COVID-19 virus.”

The fear of coronavirus getting into Georgia prisons has had inmates and their families on edge for days. 

A Dodge State Prison inmate’s wife, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal against her husband, was concerned by the news, which renewed her fear that prison officials aren’t doing enough to protect inmates.

“Why are they not trying to protect the inmates who have no voice and no way to protect themselves within those walls?” she asked.

The prison system has said it takes the coronavirus situation seriously, which is why they’ve ramped up sanitation and stopped all visitation. Officials say inmates have access to extra soap for handwashing.

Inmates and their relatives throughout Georgia have reported this week that they haven’t seen the increases in sanitation that officials promised. 

Sourced by correctionsone.com