Giving Compass' Take:

• The physical space of jails limits incarcerated individuals from being able to social distance from one another, putting them at risk for spreading COVID-19 throughout prisons. 

• How are policymakers incorporating public health interventions and strategies within the prison system? What other considerations are there?

• Read about the adverse effects of coronavirus on prison oversight. 

Jails and prisons are often overcrowded, and their residents are disproportionately likely to have chronic health conditions that make them especially vulnerable to viral infections. So as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, we’ve been asked: Is social distancing (as recommended by the CDC and other public health agencies) even possible behind bars? Can incarcerated people maintain 6 feet from each other, and from correctional officers and other staff?

In short, the answer is no.

To answer this question, we looked at how the physical space of jails and prisons compare to that of cruise ships and nursing homes, two of the most prominent incubators of the virus.

The Grand Princess and Diamond Princess, two cruise ships implicated in the outbreak of Covid-19 in the United States have typical cabins that range from 73 to 79 square feet per person (with furnishings like beds, dressers, chairs, desks, and tables).

And generally, any shared bedroom in a nursing home is required to have 80 square feet of space per resident (including necessary furnishings, like a bed, dresser, table, and chair).

We found that incarcerated people are living in quarters that are similarly sized, if not smaller. According to the American Correctional Association (ACA), cells in correctional facilities should have at least 25 feet of space per person in each cell that are “unencumbered,” meaning they are not taken up by the bunk, desk, or other furnishings.

COVID-19 is hammering cruise ships and nursing homes because social distancing is impossible. Incarcerated people are living in comparable if not smaller quarters, but with a notable difference: On cruises and in nursing homes, people have in-room access to the necessary hygiene products and water – something that is often missing in correctional facilities.

Read the full article about social distancing in prisons by  Aleks Kajstura and Jenny Landon at Prison Policy Initiative.