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That has frustrated advocates and families who point to overcrowding in prisons, inconsistent precautions, and a general lack of transparency about what is happening inside the Department of Corrections.
“They have not done nearly enough to mitigate the harm and spread of COVID-19 inside Alaska’s prisons,” said ACLU of Alaska Advocacy Director Michael Garvey.
He said long-running issues of overcrowding mean that containing the spread of the disease once it starts is impossible. Some facilities have had to use gym floors to house inmates which advocates say makes it impossible to keep proper hygiene, especially during a pandemic.
At others, like Goose Creek, communal areas make containing the spread of the disease within a housing unit, or ‘mod’ difficult, even with a population below capacity.
The Latest: Wichita, Kan., is resuming in-person classes
January 12, 2021
WICHITA, Kan. Students in Wichita, Kan., are resuming in-person learning, and bars and restaurants in the Kansas City area can stay open later while keeping limits on capacity because of the pandemic.
The Wichita school district is bringing elementary students back to classrooms Wednesday, after sending them home late last year because of a lack of substitute teachers and rising coronavirus cases.
The district plans for middle and high school students to begin later this month a hybrid mode of in-person learning part of the time and at home the rest. The older students have been remote learning since the start of the academic year.
Tide fan frenzy, valentine volunteers, ventilator theft: News from around our 50 states From USA TODAY Network and wire reports, USA TODAY
Alabama
Tuscaloosa: Thousands of excited football fans partied in streets around the University of Alabama after the Crimson Tide defeated Ohio State for the national championship, ignoring pleas for common sense and safety at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Students and others poured out of jam-packed bars near campus as time expired in Miami late Monday, gathering on University Boulevard in an area called “The Strip,” traffic cameras and images posted on social media show. Many of the fans screaming and cheering as they pressed against each other in the street didn’t wear face masks. The scene was exactly what officials feared before the game as they urged people to watch at home and celebrate privately. More than 5,300 people have died in Alabama from the illness caused by the coronavirus, and about 404,000 hav