Abstract
Background: Our objective was to examine the temporal relationship between COVID-19 infections among prison staff, incarcerated individuals, and the general population in the county where the prison is located among federal prisons in the United States. Methods: We employed population-standardized regressions with fixed effects for prisons to predict the number of active cases of COVID-19 among incarcerated persons using data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for the months of March to December in 2020 for 63 prisons. Results: There is a significant relationship between the COVID-19 prevalence among staff, and through them, the larger community, and COVID-19 prevalence among incarcerated persons in the US federal prison system. When staff rates are low or at zero, COVID-19 incidence in the larger community continues to have an association with COVID-19 prevalence among incarcerated persons, suggesting possible pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission by staff. Masking policies slightly reduced COVID-19 prevalence among incarcerated persons, though the association between infections among staff, the community, and incarcerated persons remained significant and strong. Conclusion: The relationship between COVID-19 infections among staff and incarcerated persons shows that staff is vital to infection control, and correctional administrators should also focus infection containment efforts on staff, in addition to incarcerated persons.
Highlights
In the United States, on 7 August 2020, a newly married couple held a 55-guest wedding reception in Millinocket, Maine, during the midst of the pandemic [1]
We ask: is there a temporal relationship, statistically, between rates of COVID-19 infections among incarcerated persons and correctional staff, while accounting for COVID19 infections in the general population surrounding a prison? To answer this question, we present statistical evidence of the relationship between incarcerated persons and staff infections in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the start of the pandemic in March to
We demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between the COVID-19 prevalence among correctional staff, and through them, the larger community, and COVID19 prevalence among incarcerated persons in the US federal prison system
Summary
In the United States, on 7 August 2020, a newly married couple held a 55-guest wedding reception in Millinocket, Maine, during the midst of the pandemic [1]. One wedding guest worked at York County Jail, who, after attending the reception, worked five consecutive 8-h shifts while showing symptoms of COVID-19 [1]. The staff member became one of the first confirmed COVID-19 cases at the jail, with the jail being tied to 82 subsequent cases among incarcerated persons, other correctional staff, and their family members [2]. Lambert and colleagues (2016) estimate that between 2002 to 2013, the incidence of tuberculosis in prisons was between 3 to 37 cases per 100,000 incarcerated people (the general population rate was between three to five cases per 100,000) [3]. Among individuals in state prisons, there is an estimated infection
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