As the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States nears 1 million, more evidence is indicating far more of the population has been already infected while not showing any symptoms. Reuters reports a study of prisoners in Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia found 96% of prisoners in the states’ prison systems who tested positive for coronavirus did not show any symptoms.
In New York, two more prisoners at Fishkill Correctional Facility have died of COVID-19. The Fishkill and Sing Sing correctional facilities account for at least seven of the nine COVID-19-related deaths of incarcerated people in New York.
In California, the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex — which has one of the largest coronavirus outbreaks in U.S. prisons — will reportedly reinstate phone contact between prisoners and loved ones after sustained pressure from families of inmates. Family members gathered outside the prison Saturday claiming they hadn’t been able to communicate with their loved ones — some for up to two weeks.