This story was told by a person incarcerated at Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail.
UCI: And so, how has the COVID situation been like at the facility that you’re in right now?
Caller: It’s crazy. They brought me back down – they brought me from upstate. And when I first – I got here – I got here August. And, you know, every time you leave the facility they test you twice before you leave, anywhere.
So, they tested once at the prison I was at, and they tested me the day before I left the prison – that was all negative – and then, eight hours later when I got here they tested me again, and all of sudden they said I was – and it went from negative eight hours prior to positive. So, then they stuck me in quarantine again for two weeks. And other than that, it just kind of sucks.
UCI: So, how has the vaccination situation been like at your facility?
Caller: They offer them. I mean, I got mine last – on the 13th. They offer them. They come through every week or something. One of the doctors will come through and ask if you’ve had it. If you haven’t they give you the opportunity to take it if you want it.
UCI: And you know how you said that when they switched you from facility, like eight hours later, you suddenly were positive? Did you know if there were any other people that tested positive as well?
Caller: Well, that’s what they tried to tell me. They tried to say that, yo know, somebody that I either came in with, or I was around somebody that tested positive. But they never gave me any test results. They never gave me any paperwork. They never gave me anything. And I requested it.
UCI: So, they just told you that you were positive and then just put you – okay.
Caller: They just told. Yes, they just told me and I had to go on faith that they were not lying, you know? And I filled out grievances. I filled out paperwork trying to get test results and sergeants and everything and they just denied me. They wouldn’t give it to me.
UCI: Has this happened to other people too that you’ve heard of? Like that they just don’t have access?
Caller: Yes. It happened to everybody in that module. Or everybody that they said were positive and quarantined. We all asked for some kind of paperwork saying that we were positive, you know, something, showing us why we were there.
And they just told us, oh, no, the doctor just tells you that you’re positive or negative. You know, like what the fuck? That doesn’t make sense.
UCI: Right. And so, how was that being quarantined? Did they separate you, or how were you able to –
Caller: Yeah. The ones that were supposedly positive, they stuck us all in [redacted], and they left us there for they said anywhere from 10 to 14 days. I was there for 12 or 13. And they come every day, every morning after breakfast, and they hit you with your vitals, make sure you’re alright.
Then they come back after lunch and do it again. And if you don’t show no signs or anything for those 12 days, or however long you’re there, then they’ll clear you and then they’ll send you out to wherever you’re going.
UCI: Mhmm. And do they retest you again? Or do they just after a certain amount of time they just let you go?
Caller: Yeah, once you start showing symptoms, or if you have a fever, or anything, I think they test you. But yeah, actually they didn’t test – they didn’t test us at all until – actually they didn’t test us again at all.
UCI: Mhmm. Oh, interesting.
Caller: Yeah, that was kind of weird. Upstate in prison you had to test three times before you got out of quarantine.
