August 24, 2020

Epidemiology of COVID-19 Among Incarcerated Individuals and Staff in Massachusetts Jails and Prisons

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): public health

• As of July 8, 1,032 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported among incarcerated individuals (n=664) and staff (n=368) in state and county jails and prisons in Massachusetts. The incidence of 44.3 cases per 1000 people is 2.9-fold higher than among the Massachusetts general population and 4.8-fold higher than the US general population.
• Many county facilities had lower testing rates than state facilities, and systems with higher testing rates had higher case rates, suggesting that testing is not adequate to estimate the true rates of infection.
• Cases appeared to decline among both incarcerated people and staff at county jails after 35% of the incarcerated population was released.

Jiménez et al. (Aug 21, 2020). Epidemiology of COVID-19 Among Incarcerated Individuals and Staff in Massachusetts Jails and Prisons. JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.18851