In early 2020, as COVID-19 ran rampant within South Florida jails, Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation wanted to evaluate how to curb the virus' spread.
3 officers, 2 inmates die of COVID-19 in Miami jails nydailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nydailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
That change has coincided with dozens of reported cases of the coronavirus among corrections officers and inmates this month. On February 1, 57-year-old correctional officer Juan Llanes died of COVID after a nearly 33-year career with Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation. At the time of his death, the county reported that 84 corrections employees were at home and 20 inmates were in isolation after recently testing positive for the virus. As of yesterday, 68 employees and 67 inmates were battling COVID, according to a spokesperson for Miami-Dade Corrections.
Maya Ragsdale, an attorney and advocate for incarcerated people and their families in Miami-Dade, believes the rising jail population is a contributing factor in the recent outbreak.