The Epidemiological Implications of Incarceration Dynamics in Jails for Community, Corrections Officer, and Incarcerated Population Risks from COVID-19

Eric Lofgren; Kristian Lum; Aaron Horowitz; Brooke Madubuowu; Nina Fefferman

Conditions within jails must be immediately improved to decrease the probabilities of 381 disease transmission and support better health for incarcerated people to protect not 382 only themselves, but also jail staff and the community at large. Decreasing population 383 density both directly decreases disease exposure, interrupting transmission dynamics, 384 and also facilitates many other interventions. It is a natural result of reduced intake. 385 We can achieve/enable many desired benefits with just that one, simple action, but to 386 achieve maximal benefits to society, preventing the greatest burden from disease both 387 within the jails and without, broad actions that include alterations to both intake and 388 release and also many of the within-jail strategies for improving the individual means to 389 enact personal hygiene, protection through social distancing, and access to medical care 390 are all needed. . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.