Female Prison Inmates Feel They're Being Left Out Of The Coronavirus Discussion

April Harris and Lashauna Blanks are inmates at the California institution for Women in Corona, and they feel forgotten. There’s a lot more media attention on men’s prisons, where there have been larger outbreaks of the virus.

There’s only been one positive COVID-19 case in a women’s state prison, and it's at the Corona facility. In fact, Blanks was the prisoner's cellmate.

Despite that, and despite the fact that she washes the prison ambulance and other vehicles that transport sick inmates to the hospital, Blanks has not been tested for the virus.

Prisoners who’ve had close contact with positive cases can get tested, but only if they develop symptoms or there's a large outbreak in a prison, according to state policy.

“I feel like we could be sitting on a ticking time bomb right now with so many more people affected that we don't know,” said Harris.

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