Coronavirus infections in prisons to surpass 50,000 within days

The number of federal and state prison inmates who have been infected with the coronavirus is expected to blow past 50,000 in the coming days as cases spike nationwide, according to criminal justice experts.

The Justice Action Network, a bipartisan criminal justice reform organization, predicted Wednesday that the total number of cases in all prisons, not including county jails, will hit 50,000 “within days.”

“Fifty thousand. This horrifying number of infections and deaths pains us but does not surprise us,” the organization’s president and executive director, Holly Harris, said in a statement. “Congress must ensure in the next relief bill that local officials have the resources they need to reduce incarceration and avoid reaching catastrophic numbers like these, but lawmakers have not done enough to date.”

As of June 23, a total of 48,764 people in prison had tested positive, including 2,500 new cases that week, ... (Read more)

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