This story was told by a person incarcerated at Chuckawalla.
Caller: Right now we’re at six deaths and we went up from six positives to 191 within a month and a half.
UCI: Wow.
Caller: We are skyrocketing back up. And there’s an outbreak in D facility and in C facility.
UCI: So can you give me a rough estimate of when that month started and is it in October, is it recently?
Caller: October.
UCI: It’s October?
Caller: In October, yes.
UCI: Is there anything that’s concerning you – I mean, obviously, you know, the pandemic, but is there anything that’s going on that’s concerning you about how the prison has been handling all the outbreaks?
Caller: The outbreaks were very – they were scary. I didn’t –
UCI: Mm-hmm.
Caller: – my wife or my mom and my loved ones, of course, but when it first
UCI: Mm-hmm.
Caller: – through in March, they were mixing the yards from A yard to B yard
UCI: Hmm.
Caller: – yard and we went from having no positive to the whole yard being infected. It was just – it’s the flu on steroids. I love my taste buds for two weeks and –
UCI: Wow.
Caller: – for the
UCI: You tested positive?
Caller: I tested positive.
UCI: Okay.
Caller: And I’ve tested twice already negative.
UCI: Good.
Caller: The only symptoms I got, I was fatigue and I lost my tastebuds for two weeks. But administration, they – they’re still not taking it serious. They mixed up the yards, they mixed up the buildings. Right now everybody is healthy and strong in our building. We just recently had quarantined because two inmates already tested positive once again. One works in the kitchen. And I haven’t been in the kitchen since March because that’s where everybody has been getting sick –
UCI: Is that where you used to work?
Caller: No, no, no. I –
UCI: Okay.
Caller: – here in the yard, but everybody that’s gotten sick has come out of the kitchen, so I have not been in there to eat. I just go get my lunch. I stay away from the kitchen.
