The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today released Detection & Mitigation of COVID in Confinement Facilities Guidance, along with $700 million from the American Rescue Plan to support the detection and mitigation of COVID-19 in confinement facilities nationwide. The funding guidance, developed by the CDC in collaboration with the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance, will support a wide range of testing and mitigation strategies, as well as policies and practices to safely reduce populations in confinement facilities to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
As of December 2020, as many as one in five state and federal prisoners in the U.S. had tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times higher than the general population. Prisoners and correctional officers and other staff have lost their lives to the deadly disease. Direct funding to public health agencies and technical assistance provided by BJA will help keep people who work and live in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities safe.