when will prisons reopen for visits in california

Gavin Newsom and CDCR immediately appealed that order. In October of last year, the First District Appellate Court had ordered prison officials to reduce San Quentin’s population by 50 percent in order to allow proper social distancing and quarantining. Marin County Deputy Public Defender Christine O’Hanlon, who represents 249 men at San Quentin, asserts that the conditions of confinement at the prison violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Other factors contributed to the outbreak, for example, the old architecture allows air to flow freely through doors. The testing and quarantine practices were inadequate, which lead to the spread of cases across San Quentin. Ī busload of infected prisoners from California Institution for Men were transferred to San Quentin last summer. This outbreak prompted elderly and medically vulnerable incarcerated people to petition for release in the superior court this court case in Marin county has yet to be decided, but there is still a possibility that prison officials may have to cut San Quentin’s population in half. 28 inmates and one correctional staff member died. More than 70 percent of its population and 400 correctional staff have been infected. One CDCR prison, San Quentin, was significantly impacted by the pandemic. There are currently 94,942 incarcerated persons in California’s prisons – a reduction of 27,467 since March 2020, when the prison outbreaks first began.Īs of March 16, more than 45 percent of the incarcerated population in California have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Avenal State Prison has tested the least, just 11 percent of its population. In the past two weeks, the Correctional Training Facility has tested the most individuals- 78 percent of its population. “This is an important step forward, and we will work with the incarcerated population, families and staff to ensure a smooth transition into this new normal,” Allison added.

For each facility, the date of reopening will depend on the number of active cases. The Warden and the CEO of each institution will determine whether facilities within institutions are safe to conduct in-person visiting. Video visitation, which has been ongoing at all state prisons since late last year, will continue. “We also continue to work to reopen all rehabilitative programs so that the incarcerated population may take advantage of the life-changing opportunities available.”Īccording to CDCR, there will be significant changes to visiting operations, including temperature and symptom screenings, COVID-19 testing, physical distancing, face coverings, limiting the number of visitors at a given time, length of time allowed for each visit, etc. “CDCR recognizes the value of visitation for the incarcerated population and the importance of maintaining family and community ties, which is why we have worked hard to be able to bring it back as quickly and as safely as possible,” CDCR Secretary Kathleen Allison said. Since the suspending in-person visiting statewide in March 2020, CDCR is beginning a phased reopening that will allow limited in-person visitation starting April 10. 26,776 are staff members and 52,807 are of the incarcerated population. 27, 79,583 individuals have received first-round vaccines statewide. CDCR officials have withheld their identity, citing medical privacy issues.Īs of Mar.

In the past week, one incarcerated person reportedly died from complications associated with COVID-19 at Salinas Valley State Prison. There have been 217 deaths across the CDCR system. A total of 48,343 confirmed cases have been resolved since the start of the pandemic. 40 cases are active in custody while 612 have been released while active. 27, there have been a total of 49,212 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the CDCR system – 39 of them emerged in the last two weeks. By Julietta Bisharyan, Nick Gardner and Alexis HoganĬDCR Confirmed COVID-19 Cases and OutcomesĪs of Mar.

When will prisons reopen for visits in california