I am a concerned family member that is fighting for the rights of the staff at the  Lowell women's prison in Ocala. This petition is to provide them with the right to choose to protect themselves and their family members by wearing  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) amid coronavirus. They are not allowed to wear PPE which violates their federal right to work in a healthy and safe environment.

The state of Florida's coronavirus cases are on the rise and our "Jails Are Petri Dishes" as described in an article written by the New York Times. The New York Times also reports that A week ago, the Cook County jail in Chicago had two diagnoses; by Sunday, 101 inmates and a dozen employees had tested positive for the virus. A nearby Illinois state prison reported a coronavirus-related death on Monday, and Michigan prisons had 78 positive tests. The Rikers Island jail complex in New York City had 167 confirmed cases among inmates by Monday. And at least 38 inmates and employees in the federal prison system have the virus, with one prisoner dead in Louisiana. Seven Florida Department of Corrections employees who work at separate facilities across the state have tested positive for COVID-19.

Such an outbreak could not only infect and kill hundreds or thousands of people in prison, but potentially spread to nearby communities as well. Correctional staff could spread the disease when they go back home, and inmates could spread it when they’re released. Even an outbreak contained within a jail or prison could strain nearby health care systems, as hundreds or thousands of people suddenly need medical care that jails and prisons themselves can’t provide.

So please help them protect themselves, their families, the inmates, and the  surrounding community.