The NY Times editorial board published an opinion article on June 25th about how federal prison officials have known the dangers of the spread of coronavirus inside prisons early on but have delayed in releasing at-risk inmates.
The piece notes that:
Currently, the nation’s top five Covid-19 hot spots are all correctional facilities, according to data collected by The Times. The number of infected inmates and workers has topped 70,000 — the count doubled between mid-May and mid-June — and there have been at least 627 virus-related deaths.
The article also notes that these numbers are likely undercounted due to the lack of widespread testing.