Corrections_Today_January_February_2021_Vol.83_No.1

nEWS&vIEWS

Correctional Chaplain Perspectives

COVID-19 era corrections: What to know and how to respond By Vance L. Drum, D.Min.

T he COVID-19 pandemic upended the world in 2020 and will likely continue at some pace into 2021. It is a virus which should be taken seriously in our correctional institutions. Although corrections personnel do their best work from a place of courage and not of fear, at the same time, we should pay attention to mitigating the effects of the virus in our workplaces and relationships. According to the Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention in their daily tracking, the COVID-19 situa- tion in U.S. correctional facilities as of November 24, 2020 is as follows: 1 –– Affected Facilities: 1,427 –– Total Confirmed Cases: 245,833 –– Total Resident Cases: 202,497 –– Total Staff Cases: 43,336 –– Total Deaths: 1,431 –– Total Resident Deaths: 1,345 –– Total Staff Deaths: 86 Similar daily tracking may be found at The COVID Prison Project. 2 This article will highlight four as - pects of what we need to know about COVID-19 in corrections, followed by five appropriate responses.

What to know 1. New protocols

–– Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including masks –– Limiting transmission from visitors –– Verbal screening and tempera- ture checks for all who enter the institution –– Clinical care for infected inmates –– Consideration for individuals at increased risk of severe illness

ACA has published a “Resources and Information” tab on its website listing protocols for minimizing exposure to, and treatment for, COVID-19. 3 They include: –– Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting –– Social distancing strategies

istock/RuslanDashinsky

8 — January/February 2021 Corrections Today