This letter was written by a person incarcerated at Chino.
The system seriously fouled up from the beginning. No inmates on this yard were exposed and the administration selected one of the housing units on this yard as a COVID-19 unit, thus exposing the entire population to the virus.
When the first cases of COVID-19 were found on this yard the entire year should have been placed on isolation; however, inmates were going to and from work with staff and other prisoners alike, spreading the virus.
By the end of May, the gym dorm had a severe outbreak of nearly half the gym population. Rather than isolating the infected, the medical staff left them there, thus infecting others. Only after about a week were they isolated, but the damage was done. I stayed on quarantine for nearly two months. When it was over, I was no longer allowed to go to work.
During the time I worked in the COVID-19 unit, many guys were rushed to the hospital. Some of these men were never to return because they died due to COVID-19. Around May or June staff were supposed to be checked regularly but in October one officer working in the gym dorm exposed all there to the virus.
It was and in mandatory for all prisoners and guards to wear masks, but it’s a common practice of guards not to do so. And, thus, in October, 50 percent of the population there were infected with COVID-19, myself included. Just as in the beginning the medical staff only make an appearance twice a day to all in isolation.
Often men who love serious sudden symptoms are seen too late. Men who have symptoms of the virus should be seen more frequently than once in the morning and once during the evening hours. I showed no symptoms after showing positive for the virus. In saying I would say the medical attention to the inmates infected was mediocre at best.
To be inside with this virus has been a strain to me. I have family on the outside that I do not even know if they are alive or dead. Friends of mine on the outside are up in age and I worry daily about their safety. Many guys’ relationships have been strained due to no visiting since February or March of 2020.
