As of June 5th, CDCR facilities have reported 2,854 COVID-19 cases and have tested 18,484 individuals. The confirmed cases count has doubled since last week. The spike in cases raises alarms about the disease spreading uncontrollably in CA prisons. There have been 12 deaths in California Institute for Men, in Chino, San Bernardino County. No deaths have been reported at other CDCR facilities.
The number of confirmed cases continues to rise at Chuckawalla State Prison (CVSP) and Avenal State Prison (ASP). Today, CVSP reported 985 cases, which is the highest in the CDCR system and reflects a 46.71% increase since Monday. ASP follows with 839 confirmed cases, a 40.30% increase since Monday.
The positive test rate at CVSP and ASP are 64.08% and 44.96% respectively.
New cases have been reported at CA State Prison Corcoran – 8 confirmed cases and 596 tested, Wasco State Prison – 5 confirmed cases and 1,507 tested, CA State Prison San Quentin – 4 confirmed cases, 481 tested, and North Kern State Prison – 2 confirmed cases and 1519 tested. The high testing rates are positive indications and suggest that these facilities are addressing the disease proactively.
The surge in positive cases and lack of testing at CVSP and ASP raises questions about CDCR’s efforts to contain and control the spread of COVID-19. The evidence continuously suggests that the disease is going unidentified and undetected in these facilities and more efforts need to be taken to control the numbers.
There are zero confirmed cases in CDCR facilities located in Marin County, Solano County, Sacramento County, Amador County & San Joaquin County. Facilities in these five counties are continuing to test for the virus.
Note: The definition of tested aligns with that prescribed by Johns Hopkins University. Patients are considered to be tested only when the test result is returned, i.e. the testing count reported by a facility includes the total number of tests for which results have returned, and not the total number of tests administered.
Source: The California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports COVID-19 information through a daily dashboard that is accessible here – https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/covid19/population-status-tracking/.
Dashboard & Report by Aparna Komarla
