Takeaways from Eckert's reporting:
Minnesota Department of Corrections prisons were poised for failure even before the pandemic struck. The prison population was nearing capacity, leaving little room for distancing or quarantine, and many facilities had poor ventilation.
Still, the DOC failed to innovate. They decided not to add outdoor tents for quarantining inmates or correctional officers due to security concerns, even though prisons across the country found ways to do so.
The department was especially ill-prepared for the second wave that swept across the state in November, even after observing the surge infect populations in other areas of the country.