LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The governor has been warning people to avoid confined spaces, crowded places and close distances, saying that’s the best way for Nebraska to combat COVID-19. But inside a prison, that’s nearly impossible.
10/11 NOW has been taking calls from loved ones worried about their family and friends inside Nebraska’s prison system as the pandemic makes its way behind bars.
“I don’t want to see my son die,” a mother, who wanted to remain anonymous to protect her son’s identity, told 10/11.
The mother said her son is an inmate at Lincoln Corrections Center.
He’s currently fighting COVID-19, along with 65 other inmates at the facility.
An email from the Nebraska Department of Corrections said 120 inmates at LCC were tested last week after one inmate tested positive. That’s 12% of the facility’s population.
The mother said her son was one of those exposed and started showing symptoms shortly after.
“He told me hadn’t been feeling well for over a week now but when he went to the nurse they told him he just had a cold,” she said.
She said her son wasn’t tested for COVID-19 until after she called the facility. She said he also told her he wasn’t able to shower for three days.
“Can you imagine hearing your child can’t get tested when COVID could kill, could take you to your death, that was scary for me,” she said.
A statement from NDCS said inmates are able to request COVID-19 testing on their own and if medical staff suspect an inmate has symptoms, they’ll recommend testing. The statement also said inmates at LCC are able to shower every day, even in quarantine.
The mom said, she’s concerned staff aren’t following those protocol.
“They still have human rights,” she said. “They’re in there doing their time for what they did, staff can’t be taking it out on them.”
Overall, there are Nebraska 159 inmates with COVID-19, according to the NDCS website. According to officials, 70 of those cases are at Tecumseh, 20 are at the State Penitentiary and 3 are at the work ethic camp.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 8% of the total prison population have gotten the virus.
There are also currently 67 staff with COVID-19, out of 263 total cases among staff.
The department said staff are doing everything they can to prevent the spread of the virus inside their facilities, but social distancing isn’t easy.
“Social distancing is a challenge in any self-contained setting,” The statement said. “That’s true for dormitories, nursing facilities as well as prison environments.”
This challenge is on top of the overcrowding emergency already in place. LCC is currently at 112% of its operational capacity. The state penitentiary is at 119% of its operational capacity and Tecumseh is at 106% of operational capacity.
The statement from NDCS said everyone, including inmates, are encouraged to wear a mask, limit interactions and frequently disinfect their housing area and hands. When an inmate tests positive or is potentially exposed, they are put into isolation or quarantine to limit the spread of COVID-19. They also said inmates new to the corrections system are quarantined for two weeks upon arrival.
The statement also said the medical director for NDCS is involved in all of these decisions and is one of the most well respected medical directors for a corrections system across the country.
The mother 10/11 spoke to said regardless of the protocol in place, there is still so much worry about inmates, and she wants the department to know what families are going through.
“When a parent can’t go in and see their child,” she said, "and if their child is sick with something deadly its a scary feeling, I can’t even explain it.
Copyright 2020 KOLN. All rights reserved.
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“I don't want to see my son die” parents worry about COVID-19 inside prisons - KOLN
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