"Abstract
... Through interviews with 48 incarcerated people and 27 staff at two jails and one prison in geographically diverse locations in the United States, we document the implementation of COVID-19 isolation policies from the perspective of those that live and work in carceral settings. Incarcerated people were isolated from social contact, educational programs, employment, and recreation, and lacked clear communication about COVID-19-related protocols...
Discussion
The pandemic created new forms of prolonged isolation in carceral settings that reduced or eliminated recreational opportunities, diminished opportunity to communicate with family and friends, and created a culture of misinformation regarding COVID-19. Incarcerated people experienced medical isolation and quarantine, which were intended as a form of public health protection, as punishment, akin to solitary confinement. Isolation led to disruption of a sense of community, safety and security. Incarcerated individuals expressed deleterious mental health effects and felt dehumanized."
Copyright: © 2024 Rosenberg et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.