Editorial-article-style essay Literature & Language Essay

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The Call for a Response in the COVID Situation in Erie County Jail


Coronavirus pandemic has been the center of social activities today. As people are applying preventive measures to avoid contracting or spreading the disease, the world is trying to heal from the virus's rapid spread. The coronavirus started in the late year of 2019 when the news of a virus disease broke out in Wuhan, China. It was until the early of the year 2020 that this virus spread across the world. As a countermeasure, countries minimize or shut borders on land, air, and sea. Some started a nationwide mass testing on their citizens to track down the infected people and avoid further infections. Later on, the World Health Organization reported the coronavirus disease as a pandemic as more countries started reporting cases. It has become more alarming when the mortality rates across countries increase while other countries continue to have a rapid increase in cases.
The pandemic has caused much damage economically and socially. It has forced business establishments to close down and eventually stop the business permanently. Social activities were limited because of the health protocol to observe social distancing and wear a protective shield, like face masks and face shields. People were told to stay at home and come out only when necessary to avoid contact with other people and crowding the space. However, there are places where these health protocols are challenging to follow because of preexisting circumstances. One of the places that could not healthily follow is jail and prisons. Because the space in this public entity is often crowded and small, it is hard for the people to observe social distancing.
Erie County is among the other areas that are concerned about the COVID situation in jails. As of April and May, the county's jail still had low rates of infections. That is why recommendations were given after reports of jail infections in other areas increased. At around April, 17 prisoners were released in advance after contracting the covid19 virus (Staff). The county was also able to release 78 prisoners to respond to the covid19 recommendations (Becker). However, there is still a call for more prisoners' release, especially now that the pandemic is rapidly increasing despite preventive measures (Kristich). Virus infections in jails are more easily passed to other inmates because of prisoners and jail guards and staff's in-and-out a...