This story was told by a person incarcerated at Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail.
Caller: They change – they change your clothing and bedding. While they never did the whole time I was there. I think they changed clothes like one time.
UCI: Mhmm.
Caller: And you only get to shower like – like three – three times a week, if even that.
They even skipped like one time a month – one week, during the week, we only had like one time. So, and then, it’s just horrible there.
UCI: Yeah.
Caller: It’s like – it’s you’re being punished for catching it, when it’s their fault for not doing what they’re supposed to by the medical guidelines and whatnot.
UCI: Yeah. And they make it seem like it’s your fault and just make it even worse for you and just like making it really unsure – making it really unsure as to whether or not you’re going to get better. Because you don’t know. Like we don’t even know, you know.
Caller: Yeah. Yeah, there’s a lot of people, too, that they don’t say they got it. We know they got it. Because they have all the symptoms. You know?
UCI: Mhmm.
Caller: But they don’t want – they don’t say nothing. Because they don’t want to be quarantined. Because, if someone here, in this tier, has it, they’ll quarantine the whole tier.
And we can’t move. There’s no movement. You can’t go to court. You can’t – you can’t go to visits – nothing. So everybody just sucks it up and doesn’t report it.
UCI: Yeah.
Caller: Like I say, of the six people where I was at, I was the only one who – who reported it and went and got diagnosed and said I had it. You know?
Everybody else stood there. And they’re all mad because I went to medical.
UCI: Yeah. But, you know, you were looking out for yourself, too. You know? This was still something that’s like new and you don’t know. You don’t know what – how you could react.
Caller: Yeah. I know. People were dying from it, I’m like shit. I mean, even though they feel that way, I still didn’t feel like myself. You know?
UCI: Yeah. And you said you never get sick, so it’s like – because I’m the same way, too. Like I barely get sick. So, then, when I do get sick, I’m like, “Okay. This is serious.”
Caller: Yeah. Yeah. That’s how it’s always been for me. Like I’ve never gotten sick. So it’s like, I right away, I knew I was sick.
