Three civil rights law firms were denied their plea to provide further protections against COVID-19 in San Diego County Jails by Jude Joel R Wohfeil, who upheld his tentative ruling on Monday.
Last year, the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties joined Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance and Brody McBride Law in suing San Diego County and former Sheriff Bill Gore on behalf of three inmates who claimed they were improperly exposed to COVID-19.
Their lawsuit, which is scheduled for trial later this year, claims the former sheriff and his deputies caused unnecessary infections and deaths as a result of inadequate pandemic mitigation strategies such as social distancing and testing.
The plaintiffs sought the judge to order the Sheriff's Department to comply with federal guidelines surrounding COVID-19 prevention within congregate settings.
Judge Wohlfeil in his tentative ruling countered this claim, stating the Sheriff’s Department was responding to COVID-19 in its county jails reasonably. However, plaintiffs may resubmit their plea if new evidence comes to light.
As of Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department reported there were 11 active COVID-19 cases among inmates and nine among staff. In total, over 3,700 inmates and 2,000 employees had been infected by the virus.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, lawmakers have failed to reduce prison and jail populations enough to slow the spread of COVID-19. A recent study conducted by the UCLA Law COVID Behind Bars Data Project from April 5, 2020, to April 3, 2021, shows that 394 066 COVID-19 cases and 2555 deaths due to COVID-19 had been reported among the US prison population by April 3, 2021.
The cumulative incidence rate per 100, 000 persons was 30 ,780 cases for the prison population and 9,350 cases for the U.S population.
“While COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates peaked in late 2020 and early 2021 and have since declined, the cumulative toll of COVID-19 has been several times greater among the prison population than the overall US population,” researchers wrote.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 76 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, but studies have shown that correctional staff in the U.S. are hesitant to get vaccinated or receive boosters. The UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project have also found prison systems are slow to roll out boosters to incarcerated people.
