The coronavirus hits close to home

"How is he doing?" I ask.

"He's fine," my daughter, Denise, responds. "The whole jail is on lockdown."

"What does that mean?"

"He can only leave his cell block to pick up food or to have rec time. And an officer always escorts him to and from the cell."

"Does he have access to disinfecting products."

"No," she says.

"But, they disinfect the cells with bleach every day. Once a week they are taken to a large room to pick up food items and other stuff from tables that have be wiped down with bleach."

Since January 20, my grandson has been held at the Anna M. Cross Correctional Facility for men, in one of Rikers Island's 17 mental-observation units. He is locked up for parole violations.

At age 18, William experienced his first "mental health" episode; Denise was out of town on vacation when he phoned his older sister, Shanee, and asked her pick him up from the apartment he shared with his mother and other siblings in Vanderveer Estates (now Flatbush Gardens) in East Flatbush.

Back then Vandeveer was run-down and bleak.

At Shanee's apartment, he repeatedly said, "I need to talk with someone." However, he never explained why. (I have often wondered if the desolate atmosphere in Vandereer had contributed to his anxiety.)

She reminded him that it was late evening and churches were closed.

Instead, she decided to call emergency medical services, which took him to Brooklyn Hospital where he was remained overnight.

When she returned the next day, she spoke with a staff psychiatrist who initially suggested that William might have "brain damage" (possibly because of his large facial scar, the result of a being hit and dragged by a car as a toddler).

Eventually, the doctors diagnosed him as bi-polar and schizophrenic and administered anti-psychotic drugs.

When Shanee saw the effects of the drugs, she questioned whether she had made the right decision. "His eyes were like black holes and he looked different."

Since 2000, William has been hospitalized several times, routinely gone off his meds, has quit or was kicked out of various support programs, and has rotated in and out of Rikers and upstate prisons.

Recently, he had not been in contact with his mother for several weeks.

When he did call, it greatly eased her concerns; nonetheless, she worries about his possible exposure to the coronavirus at Rikers.

Jails are ideal breeding grounds for infectious disease outbreaks because inmates live in close quarters and come in contact with high-risk individuals: those with mental illness, drug users, those with little or no access to healthcare, or those with HIV or tuberculosis.

On March 30, Jan Ransom and Alan Feuer reported in a New York Times article,* "....167 inmates and 137 staff members have tested positive at New York City’s jails, including the Rikers complex, which is described as crowded and unsanitary."

Do families have reason to worry about their loved ones in New York City jails?

It seems so.

According to nypost.com, "(at) least 273 inmates at city jails and 321 correction staffers had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday, the department said. Four Correction employees have died from the disease."

Rikers had its first inmate death on April 6.

Update:

Today, I spoke with William who said that he had tested "negative" for coronavirus.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"I'm nervous, but I don't stress over it. I feel if it's gonna happen, there's nothing I can do about it."

Ain't that the truth for all of us.

* "'We're Left for Dead': Fears of Catastrophe at Rikers Jail,"

© 2020 wistajohnson.com (Reprint by permission only.)