That, at least, is what the prison administration at
Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center seems to believe, as
normal operations resume throughout most parts of the institution. It's weird
to think that, as the spread of COVID-19 reaches new daily record highs in
certain regions, the Missouri Department of Corrections and ERDCC's warden have
basically stopped trying to protect the 2,800 prisoners here — but
that's exactly what's happened.
Individual wings of housing units no longer have separate recreation times. The
table occupancy at meals is no longer being limited. The rule about masking in
the dining halls was rescinded after less than a week and a half. Even as the
US president eases up on his longtime obstinacy and calls for Americans to wear
masks, the guards here are still not being required, nor even asked, to do so
at any time. Few — maybe one in thirty —
do so by choice.
"They're not making the offenders wear them," a caseworker was heard complaining
yesterday. "I don't see why I'd have to."
That same morning, another guard, a sergeant, poked fun at a subordinate whose
face was appropriately covered. The only part of the mockery that I found
remotely funny was, "That's gonna be a real problem once the tan lines
start to show." Otherwise, this person just fed my disappointment with
humanity.
If such maskholery is prevalent among "correctional" employees in
general, it's no wonder that (according to the Journal of the American
Medical Association) state and federal prisoners are 5.5 times more
likely to become infected than the average US citizen. Prisons are petri
dishes, ideally structured for maximum viral and bacterial spread.
Fun fact: according to that same study ("COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in Federal and State Prisons," posted 8 July), regardless of age or race,
we're also 300% more likely to die from COVID-19 complications. Thanks for that
nifty opportunity, all you contracted for-profit medical care providers out
there!
I wash my hands until the skin's tight and itchy. I wear a mask despite the
jokes. What else can I do? I'm not worried about myself so much, but there are
a lot of older, high-risk people around me in these close quarters, and I'd
hate to think that I could be partly responsible for their contracting a
potentially lethal virus. Someone should be concerned for
their well-being.
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