The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has agreed to adopt a number of measures aimed at mitigating the risk of COVID-19 transmission in jails following a settlement approved Friday stemming from a class-action lawsuit that challenged jail coronavirus protocols.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021 accused Sheriff's Department officials of not taking enough steps to protect incarcerated people from contracting COVID-19 — especially those who were particularly vulnerable to becoming infected.
Through October 2022, more than 4,600 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the county's jails and at least six people died of the virus, according to attorneys representing a group of incarcerated people who filed suit.
Per the settlement agreement, the Sheriff's Department has agreed to measures that include:
— Making a prompt determination of whether people incarcerated in the jails are at heightened risk for severe illness or death from COVID-19, and promptly placing high-risk people into more protective housing.
— Providing access to COVID-19 tests and prompt notification of test results.
— Distributing masks consistent with CDC standards.
— Ensuring regular access to soap and cleaning supplies.
— Providing clear COVID-19 vaccine information, developed by health professionals at the UC San Francisco specifically for people who are incarcerated.
In a statement, the Sheriff's Department said: "Ensuring the safety, security, health and well-being of individuals in our county jails will always be a priority for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the sheriff's department took proactive steps to ensure our seven detention facilities followed strict guidelines to minimize the spread of COVID-19."
Sheriff's officials said a number of safeguards were implemented to address the virus, including vaccine availability for all people in custody, special housing units to separate the sick from the healthy, mask distribution, daily temperature checks, and increased cleaning and disinfecting.
Jonathan Markovitz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the plaintiffs along with two other law firms, said: "Today is a good day because this settlement will provide meaningful protection against COVID-19 transmission in the San Diego County jails."
He and other attorneys who filed the lawsuit said the issues highlighted in their complaint spoke to larger concerns regarding county jail conditions and the number of deaths among incarcerated people locally.
Geneviéve Jones-Wright, executive director of Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance, said: "As we are on course for our local jails to outpace the jail deaths at Rikers Island for a third consecutive year, I see this settlement as one step of, hopefully, many to hold our sheriff accountable for keeping incarcerated persons in her department's care safe, healthy, and alive."
