Data Shows Half of New York's State Prisons Dealing With Large COVID Outbreaks

The COVID positivity rate inside prisons is around 18 percent — twice that of the general public. And recent data from the state shows there are currently large COVID-19 outbreaks in about half of New York's 52 prisons.

Some of the worst outbreaks are occurring at facilities in the state's North Country region. For example, Gouverneur Correctional Facility reported more than 86 new infections over a two-week period, with a positivity rate of 68 percent.

Corrections officers are now eligible for vaccination, but the state has declined to say when incarcerated people will begin to be inoculated. A spokesman for the corrections department says they've suspended visits to prisons, and started a surveillance testing plan in an effort to better contain the virus. The spokesman also said New York's prisons are comparatively in better condition than most other states.