CDCR Shares Info and Updates on COVID-19 Containment

By CN Staff

SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has recently created a robust web page with updates detailing its efforts—as well as those of the California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS)—in navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The information includes overviews of such strategies as expedited inmate release, screening new inmates, social distancing and other steps taken in an effort to help contain the coronavirus.

The below statement from the CDCR encapsulates some of their approaches; for the full page of information click here.

Executives and staff at CDCR and CCHCS are working closely with infectious disease control experts to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on our operations. To ensure we are ready to immediately respond to any COVID-19 related incident, CDCR and CCHCS activated the Department Operations Center (DOC) in order to be fully prepared to respond to any departmental impacts resulting from COVID-19.

 CDCR and CCHCS are dedicated to the safety of everyone who lives in, works in, and visits our state prisons. We have longstanding outbreak management plans in place to address communicable disease outbreaks such as influenza, measles, mumps, norovirus, and varicella, as well as preparedness procedures to address a variety of medical emergencies and natural disasters.

 Public safety is a top priority for CDCR, as is the health of our community. The department has been diligent in implementing proactive efforts to ensure health and safety, including recent actions to limit the risks and spread of COVID-19. Examples include limiting all non-essential or emergency transportations between CDCR facilities; screening all who enter the prisons; and suspending visits by the public. As a further protective measure, Governor Newsom issued an executive order recently directing CDCR to temporarily halt the intake of inmates and youth into the state’s 35 prisons and four youth correctional facilities. We are continuously evaluating and implementing proactive measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep our CDCR population and the community-at-large safe.