This story was told by a person incarcerated at Ventura County Main Jail.
UCI: So tell me about your experience with COVID-19.
Caller: Being in here? I mean, well I’m in the hole right now so they isolated me. [Unintelligible] I’ve been exposed. I’ve been down here for two weeks.
I don’t come out. It really sucks. I don’t have no one to talk to. You know what I mean? I caught COVID but it was when I was out – out.
UCI: And so, are they quarantining you? Did you just come to jail or is it because of an outbreak?
Caller: No I – is it because of an outbreak? Yes. I’ve been here for almost two months. And it is because of an outbreak.
UCI: Are they throwing everyone in the hole or how are they stopping the spread?
Caller: Not everyone. That, I don’t know. They don’t tell us much.
UCI: So when they re – when they relocated you, how did you find out it was because of COVID? Did an officer tell you?
Caller: Yeah. Well that’s what they told us. Well they didn’t tell me right away. They told me without any help and being really [unintelligible]. And once I got to where I got to, I figured out, “okay, well I’m going into the hole.” That’s when I found out that I guess it was because of that.
But my test didn’t come out positive. I was negative. And I guess it was because someone else was – that came out positive in that section. And I guess I was exposed to it. So they, I guess, took precaution and so or whatever, and transferred me to the hole for whatever reason.
UCI: And did they tell you how long you would be there?
Caller: They said for about 10 days. It’s been more than 10 days.
UCI: Have you tried to ask them when you’ll be going back?
Caller: They tell me that they don’t have the information. That they don’t know. Or it’s up to the doctors or something like that. They tested me, they – they came to test me again and they said it was inconclusive.
But I don’t know – I mean, I don’t know. They don’t really tell us much.
UCI: So how often are you being tested now that you are in quarantine?
Caller: Well I’ve only gotten tested twice.
UCI: Were they testing you before the outbreak?
Caller: No.
UCI: So how did they know that one other individual tested positive?
Caller: Because they – I guess, well because we were [unintelligible], we work in the kitchen and I guess one of them was feeling sick and they tested him. And he came out positive. So they started testing everybody and they put us all on lockdown. So basically everybody else was unable to come out of their cells. Like the whole facility.
