This story was told by a person incarcerated at Mule Creek.
Caller: I don’t know if I mentioned that the food that we are being served was very cold. And matter of fact, they were doing vitals for everybody checking your O2 saturation, your temperature, and your blood pressure.
And they would make the – make us wait for our chow until they were done doing that with everybody in the cell, and that could take a couple three hours at times.
UCI: No, I was going to say were they extending dinnertime then to accommodate for you guys having to get tested prior to going?
Caller: I don’t follow your question. Ask me one more time.
UCI: You said that you all had to get tested right before you would go down to eat. Is that correct?
Caller: Well, it was, like I said, just the vitals. It wasn’t the COVID test.
UCI: Oh, vitals. Okay, okay.
Caller: Okay, just the vitals. And it didn’t happen every time, but it happened a few times within the eight days that I was there. When they would be doing the vitals, chow would show up, but they would put chow on hold until they were done doing all of the vitals. And chow comes first before the vitals because it’s only going to hold temperature for so long, and most of the time anyways it was cold already, so.
Oh, another thing, the laundry. Only one time in the eight days that I was there did they actually bring in some sheets and blankets to replace our linens. But there were 91 people in there, and they only brought enough for 38 people. There’s no way for us to really wash our own laundry. The facilities just were not set up to do what we need to do to be clean.
Oh, and showers were every three days, every 72 hours, as if we had been on a disciplinary lockdown. You know, during this virus, hygiene is paramount. They’re always talking about and pushing, “Wash your hands. Wash your hands.” But yet they don’t let us shower but every 72 hours, and that’s ongoing. Matter of fact, there even was a sergeant and lieutenant spoken to about it, and they said, “Well, that’s what the PSR says to do,” which is the program status report.
And that is what delineates what is to be allowed and what isn’t. So, do you have any other questions? ‘Cause I think I’ve kinda covered what I wanted to say.
UCI: Yeah, no, this has been great. You mentioned very early on that all of your – most of the bathrooms were outside. Can you explain why that is?
Caller: Well, because there’s only one toilet in the gym, and that is not enough for 90 to 100 people.
And so they’ve got outhouses, the porta potties, outside. I didn’t count them, but I’m going to say there’s maybe a dozen of them out there. But they lock the gym door at 9:00, so we don’t even get to use the toilet. Well, we have to use it when we have to use it. But, you know, they lock the gym door at 9:00, so we no longer have access to those porta potties.
UCI: Okay, so you’re then required to just wait until the morning basically if you have to go to the restroom or use the one that services, what did you say, upwards of 90 people or so?
Caller: Yeah, I believe the capacity of bunks that they put in the gym was 100.
UCI: A 100.
Caller: And when I was there, I believe the most that was there was, like, 91.
UCI: So, do you think that a huge reason why maybe some of your case numbers have gone up recently is because they’re waiting such a long time to tell people they’ve tested positive, and then they’re mixing among other people and not quarantining or taking the steps? Yeah?
Caller: Yes. And they are just mass moving everybody and shuffling everybody from – there’s a couple of yards that the guys – matter of fact, I’ve heard of guys that went down to the lower gyms on the level three and the level four yards from the level twos, and they’re just being shuffled.
I heard stories from a couple other guys I know. You know, I’m not speaking on their behalf, but they told me that they were moved six times in four days from a particular building into other gyms and just constantly being shuffled around. It’s almost like they’re trying to spread it even more so than what it would –
Had they just simply locked everybody down into their housing units and left everybody where they were and just monitored those that had severe symptoms and then took them into isolation and treated them, it would not have spread to the extent that it has spread.
