The outbreak of a coronavirus in San Quentin State Prison, experienced by a prisoner imprisoned there.

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This self-explanatory diary is based on a conversation with journalist Adam Chan, who was held in San Quentin Prison, California. San Quentin is experiencing a large outbreak of COVID-19 (more than 1,400) after the state moved people from another prison to San Quentin. The conversation has been transcribed, summarized and edited by Aviva Shen for clarity.

Perhaps early in March, and perhaps late in February, we heard about the virus. That was the news. There has been a lot of speculation about how it affects public life. At the time, I was relatively normal in prison. I’m part of a team of video journalists Create a show It airs in all 36 prisons in California. So at the same time we were developing content about coronaviruses, at the same time we interviewed people in prison to see what they felt and what they felt they were coming to. ..

Then, on March 17, the prison was in a sequestered blockade, and I was moved to this part of the prison’s H unit, which is made up of dorms. I used to be in the North Block cell. Outbreaks have not yet occurred in this part of the prison. This is surprising, as more than 1,000 people currently in prison have been confirmed to be infected with the virus. Now, I’m glad that I can get better just by talking on the phone.

At that time, they were moving people in prison. I think I’m trying to make sure that certain vulnerable groups are in places where social distance can be ensured. However, in the last few months, I have found that prisons are so overcrowded that in reality these measures do not work. There is no way to reach social distance. There is no way to isolate a person. It was a catastrophe.

Since March we have been banned from the media center where all of us work, podcasts. Ear hustle There is newspaper Being there, it’s like the center of information that comes out of prisons in the world. I’m isolated from other journalists I work with. We have endeavored to receive messages from them through people we know and have common contacts with.

I still have friends in North Block. The north block is a huge cell block. Everyone is a double cell with very small cells like 5 x 10 feet. There is no proper ventilation. No air will enter the cell block. It’s like everyone breathes the same air. And, as I’ve heard, I’m expecting, people can’t breathe, people are collapsing, they’re collapsing left and right. It’s really scary. I know many of the vulnerable groups of interest to me. I’m really worried.

It’s really crowded. This is public health emergency.

Elsewhere in prison, they cannot access the phone the way we are here because we are dorms. It’s an open space with access to the phone. Inside the cell block, the phone is outside the cell. Therefore, you cannot use the phone when you are locked in a cell. So it’s hard to get information from it. There are people I know who have the virus and are asymptomatic. But I also heard that someone I know who is the subject of the movie I made is now in the ICU. I’m not sure of his condition.

Of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Statement to the media They have provided hand sanitizers and masks, which is true to some extent. The mask, which seems to be about a month old, was quarantined. Where I am, there is a one-handed disinfectant dispenser in a building for 100 people, and it may not always be immediately available. But the whole idea of ​​talking about hand sanitizers is not really the point. Similarly, the virus is already here. It has already occurred. I don’t know if hand sanitizers will stop here. It’s really crowded. This is a public health emergency.

Overcrowding has been a problem for decades. Even in the year before the pandemic, the Supreme Court Prisons in Southern California were unconstitutional The people were killed due to lack of medical care and mental health, and the state was ordered to alleviate the overcrowding problem. And this was the year before the pandemic. Now, while we are in a frenzy, we still do not have an answer as to when the overcrowding will ease. Some people in the community have recently risen up and say they will help people out of prison to re-enter. Many families bring their families home. So there are places where people go and people who want to accept it. Our greatest demand is that people are allowed to leave this place. The second requirement is that the CDCR stop the movement of people throughout the country and the spread of the virus to other prisons.

I think much of what I was doing was just going beyond building journalism to building a community here. So this is a community. There is a large creative arts community here. People are involved in theatre, writing and graphic arts. Others are involved in education and education. There are many people here who are interested in college programs, music programs, and above all, self-development, trying to find solutions to violence and investigate childhood and the like. They are suspended now. So I worry about those who categorize society as violent or wrong and are actively working on new identities and ways of being. And it’s suspended now. worry. And I’m also worried about it. I think these community ties I share with others are really important. I can’t see those people. I don’t know what’s going on with those people.

I try to stay as healthy and clean as possible. I’m trying to put on a mask. But besides that, I really don’t know what can be done to prevent coronaviruses from invading here. I think that’s one of the reasons we haven’t reached here yet, as there is a considerable distance between the H units in the other parts of the prison and the cell block. But there are corrective officers moving up the shift in the affected areas and coming down here. There’s more ventilation here, and as you know it is one of the best ways to fight the virus. There is a window here, and there is an open door. However, this dormitory is also crowded. If you’re here, there’s not much social distance here. We all use the same toilet. Use the same shower. Our sleeping areas are really very close, just a few inches away from each other. So there is a problem in this area as well. And in a sense, we just feel like waiting for the virus to get here. It’s that kind of feeling. It’s just like sitting here and waiting.