CDCR responds to newspaper’s questions
With apologies for the delay, Terry Hardy, a public information officer with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, responded to the newspaper’s recent questions regarding the COVID-19 outbreak at the California Correctional Center in Susanville.
Here is CDCR’s response.
“The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and California Correctional Health Care Services are working closely with the California Department of Public Health as well as local and national health experts to fight COVID-19 at all our institutions, including California Correctional Center. We appreciate our partnership with Lassen County and their efforts that enabled COVID-19 testing for CCC’s incarcerated population. We do understand their concerns about our operational changes at CCC but want to emphasize we are working diligently to protect the people who live and work in our prison as well as our communities.
“Since mid-March, CCC has been conducting verbal and temperature screening of all those entering state prisons, providing hand sanitizer to staff and members of the incarcerated population, and strictly limited incarcerated movement to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 between housing facilities at the institutions.
“Also, since April 21, all institutions have made programming adjustments such as providing staggered dining, phone calls and showers to allow for physical distancing and proper disinfecting between each use. Sanitation and hygiene practices, including the availability of cleaning supplies to the incarcerated population, are being monitored and enforced across all institutions. Reusable cloth barrier masks have been distributed to each inmate and staff member and strict guidelines have been provided mandating their use while on institution grounds.”