Are North Country Prisons Ready for Coronavirus? Employees Say No
by Emily Russell • Published on March 30, 2020 • Last modified on March 31, 2020 • 0 Comments
A guard keeps watch over the grounds at Clinton Correctional Facility
Credit: Emily Russell
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Listen to this story from Emily Russell at North Country Public Radio here.
More than 9,000 people are incarcerated in state prisons across the North Country and hundreds more work inside these facilities. With the first reported cases of coronavirus in two North Country prisons last week, we asked staff and state officials if facilities are ready for the COVID-19 pandemic.
A few weeks ago a corrections officer at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora was talking to fellow officers who didn’t think coronavirus was going to be a big deal.
“I’m like, ‘You know at least we should be prepared just in case something like this happens.’ A few weeks later here we are.”
Find this story from Emily Russell at North Country Public Radio on their website.
