Legislators Urge DOCCS to Provide Masks

In response to news that more than 600 correctional officers and nearly 200 inmates in New York State correctional facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson (D-104), Senator Jen Metzger (D-42), and Assemblymember Sandy Galef (D-95) wrote a letter urging Anthony Annucchi, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), to provide face coverings for correctional officers and inmates.

Jacobson said, “The only way that prisons can be safe is if BOTH correctional officers and inmates have masks and social distancing is practiced by all. Those infected must be separated from the rest of the prison population. We can’t have prisoners infecting correction officers or vice versa.”

Last week, Governor Cuomo announced a new executive order directing all New Yorkers to wear face coverings when social distancing is not an option. Correctional facilities are designed to confine inmates in close quarters with numerous shared facilities and communal areas, making social distancing difficult and leaving inmates and staff vulnerable to an asymptomatically transmittable virus such as COVID-19.

Metzger said, “As the representative of seven correctional facilities under state jurisdiction, I am deeply concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in such close quarters. After calling and writing the DOCCS Acting Commissioner urging him to address these concerns nearly three weeks ago, I was glad to see that the Department dropped the prohibition against employees wearing masks, but it’s long overdue that everyone—employees and inmates alike—be equipped with, and wear, the protections needed for their safety, and the safety of employees’ families and the surrounding community.”

Galef said, “Wearing masks is a simple and effective way to slow the infection rate of COVID-19. The growing number of correctional officers and inmates that are now sick throughout the state is a real concern. I believe that compulsory mask-wearing would help tremendously in slowing the spread of this deadly virus.”