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More than 500 girls at a federal medical prison in Texas have examined constructive for the coronavirus, in one of many largest confirmed outbreaks at a federal prison, the Bureau of Prisons mentioned.
The variety of confirmed circumstances at the Federal Medical Center-Carswell in Fort Worth jumped to 510 on Tuesday, simply two days after the Bureau of Prisons reported that 200 girls there had examined constructive for Covid-19, the sickness brought on by the coronavirus. Only the federal prison in Seagoville, additionally positioned within the Dallas-Fort Worth space, had extra contaminated inmates, with 1,156 circumstances as of Tuesday.
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“We’re like a whole bunch of hamsters in a cage chasing our own tails,” mentioned Carswell inmate Holli Chapman.
Three weeks in the past, the prison had reported solely three confirmed circumstances of the virus amongst inmates. One prisoner, Andrea Circle Bear, died in April. On July 12, 69-year-old Sandra Kincaid grew to become the second lady to die there from the virus.
FMC-Carswell holds feminine inmates with medical and psychological well being points. It at the moment has 1,357 prisoners. Since April, many inmates have informed the newspaper they had been involved the virus may unfold by way of the prison.
One of the inmates who has examined constructive for the virus is Reality Winner, a former authorities contractor who’s serving a five-year prison sentence after she pleaded responsible to mailing a categorized report back to a information group.
Carswell’s administration directed inquiries to the Bureau of Prisons. The company mentioned in a press release that it’s taking precautions to stem the virus’ unfold.
“As with any type of emergency situation, we carefully assess how to best ensure the safety of staff, inmates and the public,” the company mentioned. “All of our facilities are implementing the BOP’s guidance on mitigating the spread of Covid-19.”
Last week, a number of girls at Carswell informed the Star-Telegram that the power didn’t have sufficient sanitizing provides or protecting tools. The lady additionally famous that cells will not be instantly cleaned after somebody exams constructive. Inmate Sandra Shoulders mentioned mattresses utilized by girls who’ve examined constructive are piled up in a TV room.
“We feel basically abandoned,” she mentioned. “(Officers) are saying they’re doing all this stuff for us, that they’re in here with us. But they’re not the ones in 24-hour quarantine, left in a 6-by-6 cell with three other people with 10 minute showers, 10 minutes to be on the phone or email to communicate with their families.”
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