Breakthrough cases of COVID-19 have been reported at San Quentin, leaving relatives outside of the prison walls very concerned.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told KCBS Radio that four inmates were infected due to the delta variant last week.
There were no additional cases of COVID-19, but the outbreak was enough for San Quentin officials to place one cell block under quarantine with inmates transferred to single cells.
At a prisoner's rights protest outside of San Quentin, Tamara Morgan Hudson said she’s worried about her husband who is behind bars.
"His unit is currently on lockdown right now," she said. "We haven’t been able to do in person visits because of the mini outbreak of the new variant."
Inmate rights activist Judy Greenspan worries because San Quentin had a massive outbreak last year, prior to the inmates receiving vaccines.
"I think they’ve vaccinated a higher percentage of prisoners than they have guards, so the guards are the ones who are going to be bringing in the virus," she told KCBS Radio.
The department said it has an extensive COVID-19 mitigation program and reports that 85% of San Quentin’s inmates are currently vaccinated.
In May, a lawsuit was filed against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation by hundreds of inmates who alleged that the prison system’s inability to protect them from the virus constituted cruel and unusual punishment.
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