Coronavirus Spread in Rikers Island, New York Report

Introduction

In this paper, the issue of coronavirus in New York and, specifically, among inmates on Rikers Island, will be addressed. Namely, the paper will address the factors that have affected the drastic rise in the number of cases of COVID-19 among Rikers Island staff members, as well as the problems associated with measuring the levels of the epidemic among Rikers inmates.

To consider the case and evaluate the current threat, as well as make key projections, a contextual analysis of the existing sources, as well as the COVID-19 online simulation tool, have been utilized.¹

COVID-19 in Rikers Island

Historically speaking, jails, prisons, and other carceral settings have always been particularly susceptible to viral epidemics. Correctional institutions put large numbers of people into close confined spaces, which makes monitoring the inmates easier, but also makes it impossible to effectively maintain social distancing guidelines. Moreover, the limited medical capacities of said institutions make it almost impossible to isolate sick individuals because, due to the insufficient number of hospital beds, they may have to remain in the general population. In a carceral setting, a single inmate may be enough to start an outbreak that affects thousands of people, as in San Quentin Prison during the Spanish Influenza of 1918.² Finally, prisons and jails also affect the population at large due to inmate turnover, as personnel may contract the disease from the inmates and carry it beyond the limits of a given correctional institution. Therefore, attention to US prisons, jails, and other correctional institutions should be among the primary tasks associated with limiting the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, the inmates hosted in the facility on Rikers Island are facing severe danger due to the glaring exposure to COVID-19. A recent report by the NY Times staff addressing the issue references the extremely poor conditions and the lack of opportunities for social distancing as the key contributors to the rise in the epidemic.³ Namely, the Rikers Island facility has been defined as the “epicenter of the epicenter” due to the drastic circumstances that its inmates are facing at the moment.⁴ In mid-March, a corrections officer and an inmate in the facility have tested positively for COVID-19.⁵ This case made Rikers Island one of the first correctional institutions in the United States to have a confirmed case of COVID-19, along with individual cases from California, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Washington states.⁶ It suggests that Rikers Island, as a correctional facility, falls within the category of the carceral settings most susceptible and vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, thus requiring corresponding measures to address the issue.

The severity of the epidemic in Rikers Island is also one of the greatest nationwide. In April, the correctional facility had an estimated infection rate of 5.1 percent, which is five times greater than the average for New York City.⁷ This estimation also points to the necessity of accessing and addressing the situation in the Rikers Island correctional facility.

The sanitation issue is, perhaps, one of the main points to be addressed when talking about the measures to be used to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and the rise in the number of cases. Thus, to manage the situation, improved guidelines, and standards for cleaning the premises, as well as maintaining the required level of sanitary norms, will have to be established. Otherwise, Rikers Island, as well as other correctional facilities across the New York State and nationwide, may become recurring centers of the ongoing epidemic.

Measures Taken in Rikers Island

The attempt at keeping the inmates that have just recently arrived separately from the ones that have been staying within the Rikers Island facilities before the epidemic is admittedly reasonable. Indeed, reports indicate that the cases of coronavirus cases among staff members of the facility have risen in numbers. In turn, the changes in the COVID-19 development in inmates have been quite difficult to track down, mainly due to the rapid and constant changes in the number of people arrested and released.⁸ Therefore, it is essential to establish the framework for identifying and analyzing changes in the number of people developing the disease in the Rikers Island facility.

Consequently, a more effective system of preventing and testing the cases of COVID-19 will have to be introduced so that the target population could receive the required assistance. The specified strategy will require a more nuanced approach toward how the feedback system between the prisoners and the Rikers Island staff is established.⁹ As of now, the Correction Department of New York City enforces the medical screening program for staff and inmates alike. This program includes a series of questions on the symptoms of COVID-19 and temperature screening for the staff, as well as access to testing for COVID-19 for staff members.¹⁰ Those with symptoms of positive test results are sent home to self-isolate. Inmates also receive medical screening and symptom monitoring.¹¹ These measures are intended to mitigate the risks as well as provide constant updates on the situation. However, since a correctional facility can only send a portion of its personnel home without ceasing to function effectively, the effect of this approach is ultimately limited.

In terms of sanitation, the Department of Correction pays careful attention to cleaning the premises. Current guidelines require cleaning and sanitizing all housing units, common spaces, and dayrooms as well as transport buses once a day, showers – thrice a day, and contact surfaces – every two hours.¹² Additional attention is paid to the availability of hand soap, disinfectants, and other cleaning supplies.

Finally, the Department of Correction aims to implement social distancing guidelines for staff and inmates alike. The measures taken include painting social distancing cues in common use areas, such as day rooms, and additional educational efforts to explain the necessity and efficiency of maintaining a distance of no less than 6 feet. Additionally, the Department of Correction encourages stricter limits on the number of people that may have access to shower areas, dayrooms, and bathrooms at any given time.¹³ Still, these are only palliative measures, as controlling the distance between the inmates at all times is unfeasible, and contacts will inevitably occur in common use areas.

In addition to these measures, an improved approach toward detecting and handling the cases of COVID-19 will require an isolated facility for the inmates with coronavirus, as well as advanced methods of testing. For this reason, the current infrastructure that allows the staff of Rikers Island to communicate with the city authorities will have to be improved. Specifically, analysis results, as well as medications and other relevant tools will have to be delivered to Rikers Island as fast as possible.

Overall, the New York City Department of Correction implements measures designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 in its correctional facilities, including Rikers Island. However, these measures are inherently limited and often palliative. Moreover, the Department’s guidelines specifically state that “as appropriate, patients may also receive care at acute care facilities within the NYC Health + Hospitals system.”¹⁴ Therefore, the epidemiological situation in Rookers Island may have a direct negative impact on the availability of hospital beds, ICUs, and ventilators citywide, which requires an evaluation of such an effect.

Accounting for Rikers Island: Epidemiological Model

COVID-19 online simulation tool presents a suitable tool for accounting for the incarcerated populations and their impact on the healthcare system.¹⁵ With an estimated population of Rikers Island as 16,000 inmates and staff in total and the average New York spread rates, the tool estimates that the maximum number of severe cases will be 485, requiring the corresponding number of hospital beds and occurring on day 84. The maximum number of critical cases requiring an ICU or a ventilator is expected to be 143, achieved on day 90.

However, as mentioned above, the rates of the COVID-19 spreading in Rikers Island are approximately five times greater than those of New York City in general.¹⁶ If one calculates the impact of the epidemic on a 16,000 population using these rates, which account for high population density, frequent contacts, and insufficient social distancing, the epidemic progresses much faster. The maximum number of severe cases should occur on day 28, imposing a requirement of as much as 877 hospital beds. The maximum number of severe cases is estimated to be 222 and occur on day 36.

Thus, accounting for the incarcerated population of Rikers Island suggests that the conditions of correctional institutions have an adverse impact on the spread of COVID-19 and put additional pressure on the healthcare system. Under said conditions, the maximum number of severe cases potentially requiring hospitalization rises by 392, from 485 to 877. The number of critical cases potentially requiring an ICU or ventilator rises by 79, from 143 to 222. Moreover, in a correctional institution, these maximum numbers are predicted to occur on days 28 and 36, respectively, instead of days 84 and 90, signaling an adverse impact on the epidemic curve.

Conclusion

The current situation in the correctional facility on Rikers Island, NY, presents a clear epidemiological threat. Carceral settings are known to create especially favorable conditions for the spread of disease during epidemics, and Rikers Island was one of the first correctional institutions nationwide to have a confirmed case of COVID-19. New York City Department of Correction imposes new guidelines on screening, sanitation, and social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19, yet the measures implemented are largely palliative. COVID-19 online simulation tool demonstrates that accounting for the staff and incarcerated population of Rookers Island, estimated at 16,000, increases the demand for available beds by 392 and the demand for ICUs and/or ventilators by 79 at the highest points. It also suggests that the conditions of a correctional institution have a profoundly negative impact on flattening the epidemic curve.

Works Cited

Amon, Joseph J. “COVID-19 and Detention: Respecting Human Rights.” Health and Human Rights Journal, 2020.

Brown, Alleen. “Inside Rikers: An Account of the Virus-Stricken Jail from a Man Who Managed to Get out.”The Intercept, 2020.

Carissimo, Justin. “Leaving Rikers Island and Coming Home to a Pandemic.”CBC News, 2020.

“COVID-19 Infection Tracking in NYC Jails.” The Legal Aid Society. Web.

Hawks, Laura, et al. “COVID-19 in Prisons and Jails in the United States.”JAMA Internal Medicine, 2020.

Johnson, James. “I’m in Prison in New York. Many Are Sick with COVID-19 – And I Fear for Our Safety.”The Guardian, 2020.

“Modeling COVID-19 Spread vs Healthcare Capacity.”AlHill.SipplyApps.io, n.d.

Montoya-Barthelemy, Andre, et al. “COVID-19 and the Correctional Environment: The American Prison as a Focal Point for Public Health.”American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2020.

“‘New York State on PAUSE’ Executive Order – Governor Cuomo.” 2020.

“Prevention and Sanitation.”Department of Correction, New York City.

“Screening and Health Care.”Department of Correction, New York City.

“Social Distancing Guidelines for Staff and People in Custody.”Department of Correction, New York City.

Footnotes

1. “Modeling COVID-19 Spread vs Healthcare Capacity.” AlHill.SipplyApps.io, n.d. Web.
2. Hawks, Laura, et al. “COVID-19 in Prisons and Jails in the United States.” JAMA Internal Medicine, 2020. Web.
3. Johnson, James. “I’m in Prison in New York. Many Are Sick with COVID-19 – And I Fear for Our Safety.” The Guardian, 2020. Web.
4. Brown, Alleen. “Inside Rikers: An Account of the Virus-Stricken Jail from a Man Who Managed to Get out.” The Intercept, 2020. Web.
5. Amon, Joseph J. “COVID-19 and Detention: Respecting Human Rights.” Health and Human Rights Journal, 2020. Web.
6. Amon, Joseph J. “COVID-19 and Detention: Respecting Human Rights.” Health and Human Rights Journal, 2020. Web.
7. Montoya-Barthelemy, Andre, et al. “COVID-19, and the Correctional Environment: The American Prison as a Focal Point for Public Health.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2020. Web.
8. Carissimo, Justin. “Leaving Rikers Island and Coming Home to a Pandemic.” CBC News, 2020. Web.
9. “COVID-19 Infection Tracking in NYC Jails.” The Legal Aid Society. Web.
10. “Screening and Health Care.” Department of Correction, New York City. Web.
11. “Screening and Health Care.” Department of Correction, New York City. Web.
12. “Prevention and Sanitation.” Department of Correction, New York City. Web.
13. “Social Distancing Guidelines for Staff and People in Custody.” Department of Correction, New York City. Web.
14. Screening and Health Care.” Department of Correction, New York City. Web.
15. “Modeling COVID-19 Spread vs Healthcare Capacity.” AlHill.SipplyApps.io, n.d. Web.
16. Montoya-Barthelemy, Andre, et al. “COVID-19, and the Correctional Environment: The American Prison as a Focal Point for Public Health.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2020. Web.