For People Living in Prisons and Jails
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. This virus spreads easily from person-to-person. It is important to protect yourself from getting COVID-19 because it can make you very sick.*
- It may be hard to stay at least 6 feet away (2 arm lengths) from other people.
- There may not be enough space to keep people with COVID-19 away from others.
- You may be sharing space with someone who has the virus and does not know it, because they are not coughing or showing other symptoms.
- Staff or visitors may have the virus and not know it.
About COVID-19
- Many people who have COVID-19 do not feel sick.
- For those who do feel sick, some signs and symptoms of COVID-19 include:
Fever/chills
Coughing
Feeling tired
Having a hard time breathing
Pain in the head or bodyNew loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Stuffy or runny nose
Nausea/vomiting
Diarrhea
How COVID-19 Spreads
The virus spreads when a person with COVID-19 breathes, coughs, sneezes, talks, or sings within 6 feet of other people.
- Droplets are formed when you breathe. These droplets can contain the virus. If people nearby breathe in the droplets, then they can get infected.
- Droplets can stay in the air for minutes to hours. Droplets can also infect someone more than 6 feet away.
- Less commonly, people may get infected by the virus by touching something with the virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose, or eyes.
People at Risk For COVID-19
- Anyone can get infected.
- Older adults and people with certain health issues tend to get sicker with COVID-19. Some of these issues include:
If you have any of these health issues, it is more important than ever to protect yourself and get the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to you.
Protect Yourself and Others
- Try to stay at least 6 feet (2 arm lengths) from others, especially people from a different housing unit.
- Other times where you should try to distance yourself include:
- Recreation, especially when inside
- Mealtime (if in a dining area with people from other units)
- Walking in hallways
- Other times where you should try to distance yourself include:
- Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth, especially when around staff or people from a different housing unit.
- Always wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds**:
- After touching your mask
- Before touching your face
- After coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose
- After using the bathroom
- Before eating
- Before and after making food
- Before taking medicine
Common Spaces
- Avoid sharing forks, spoons, dishes, and cups.
- Go outside for your recreation time if you can
- Sleep head to foot if there is more than one bed in a room. This gives you more space between your face and others around you.
- If visitors are allowed, visitors will be screened for COVID-19 and asked to wear a mask.
- Visitors cannot enter the building if they do not clear the screening process (for example, a temperature check), or if they refuse to be screened.
If You Were Near Someone with COVID-19
- You may be tested for the virus even if you do not feel sick.
- You will be sent to an area away from others. This is called quarantine.
- Quarantine separates people who were exposed to COVID-19 to see if they become sick.
- This room may be a single cell or a large area with others.
- Quarantine helps protect you from getting or spreading the virus to others.
What to Do if You Feel Sick
- Tell a correctional officer or staff member if you feel sick so you can get medical care.
- You may be sent to an area by yourself. This is called medical isolation.
- Medical isolation separates people who may have COVID-19 from people who are not sick. This is so you don’t get others sick.
- This room may be a single cell or a large area with others who are also sick.
- Medical isolation is not to punish you.
- You may be tested for COVID-19.
- If your test is positive, showing you have COVID-19, you will need to stay in medical isolation for at least 10 days.
- If your test is negative, but you were near someone with COVID-19, you may be sent to a quarantine area for 14 days to see if you develop COVID-19.
- A negative test result means that you probably did not have COVID-19 at the time of testing or that it was too early in your infection.
- You could be exposed to COVID-19 after being tested.
- You may be tested again.
Resources
- Visit CDC’s How to Protect Yourself & Others webpage for more information on the important ways to slow the spread of COVID-19.
- It is natural to feel stress, grief and worry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Refer to CDC’s Coping with Stress webpage for more details on how you can help yourself and others manage stress.
- Content from this webpage can also be found in CDC’s document What You Need to Know about COVID-19 if You are Incarcerated/Detained pdf icon[253 KB, 2 pages].
*This webpage contains recommendations for people in prisons and jails. CDC acknowledges it may be difficult to stay 6 feet apart and avoid crowds in these settings.
** If available, use alcohol-based hand rub when soap and water are not immediately available.