Public Policy
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from public policy organizations whose goal it is to influence the debate Washington.
Featured Stories
University of Nebraska Medical Center: Shield Protects Health Care Workers From Coronavirus for Intubation Procedures
OMAHA, Nebraska, April 6 -- The University of Nebraska Medical Center issued the following news release:
A new protective barrier invented at the University of Nebraska Medical Center shields and protects health care workers from contagions and other contaminants during intubation procedures.
Inventors Thomas Schulte, MD, and Michael Ash, MD, in collaboration with Scott Nepper at Design Plastics, Inc. in Omaha--developed the device in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were looking for a way to help offset the widespread shortages of personal protective equipment facing healthcare workers,
... Show Full Article
OMAHA, Nebraska, April 6 -- The University of Nebraska Medical Center issued the following news release:
A new protective barrier invented at the University of Nebraska Medical Center shields and protects health care workers from contagions and other contaminants during intubation procedures.
Inventors Thomas Schulte, MD, and Michael Ash, MD, in collaboration with Scott Nepper at Design Plastics, Inc. in Omaha--developed the device in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were looking for a way to help offset the widespread shortages of personal protective equipment facing healthcare workers,but also a better version of intubation boxes already on the market.
"We liked the idea of the intubation box, but worried the rigid construction and size would have limited us to only a few operating rooms," said Dr. Ash, a physician who is also the vice chancellor for information technology at UNMC and executive vice president and chief transformation officer at Nebraska Medicine. "We also worried about storage after the pandemic. We came up with a lightweight, foldable solution that is easily maneuverable for our providers and easy to clean. We now have thirty Intubation Shields deployed around the hospital."
The Intubation Shield looks like a four-sided box made of a clear, lightweight plastic. It has ports so a healthcare professional can access the patient.
Easily maneuverable and adjustable, the Intubation Shield acts as a barrier to any pathogens a patient might express as a physician installs a tube down a patient's throat and into the lungs. The tube provides an uninterrupted air supply for patients that struggle to breathe, including those suffering the more severe symptoms of COVID-19.
"The intubation shield provides an additional layer of safety and is so easy to use we plan on using the shield on every intubation of patients we suspect may have COVID-19," said Schulte, an anesthesiologist at Nebraska Medicine.
The box is lightweight, folds flat for easy storage and can be cleaned for multiple uses, including cleaning using UV methods.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska at Omaha, will ship intubation boxes to hospitals in some of the areas hardest hit by COVID-19. Michael Dixon, CEO of UNeMed said, "We are humbled to be able to play a role in helping to protect providers on the front line and grateful to our inventors for creating an easy-to-use tool that could help stop the spread."
Orders for the devices can be placed here (https://www.unemed.com/product/intubation-box).
A video demonstrating how the Intubation Shield works is available here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWPmLeayjyc&feature=youtu.be).
[Category: Health Care]
RAND: Forgotten on the Frontlines of the Food Supply Chain
SANTA MONICA, California, April 6 -- RAND issued the following commentary by Susan L. Marquis, dean, Pardee RAND graduate school vice president, innovation distinguished chair in policy analysis:
In the COVID-19 pandemic, we're all coming to recognize a new class of essential first responders: those who keep the supply chains going.
In the food supply, farmworkers are these first responders. The federal government officially declared them to be part of the "critical infrastructure workforce" with a "special responsibility to maintain [a] normal work schedule." Guest workers, who come from other
... Show Full Article
SANTA MONICA, California, April 6 -- RAND issued the following commentary by Susan L. Marquis, dean, Pardee RAND graduate school vice president, innovation distinguished chair in policy analysis:
In the COVID-19 pandemic, we're all coming to recognize a new class of essential first responders: those who keep the supply chains going.
In the food supply, farmworkers are these first responders. The federal government officially declared them to be part of the "critical infrastructure workforce" with a "special responsibility to maintain [a] normal work schedule." Guest workers, who come from othercountries to harvest fruits and vegetables, have been declared exempt from travel restrictions. In California, farmworkers are exempt from government orders to shelter-in-place and other measures to stop the spread of the virus. The same will likely be true in Florida.
The working and living conditions of farmworkers make practicing social distancing, self-isolation, or quarantine impossible. These workers generally live in unimaginably crowded conditions, 10 to 12 people in single-wide trailers, 5 or 6 in one-room cinderblock bunkhouses, or in encampments scattered around agricultural areas such as Napa Valley. There is no room where an infected worker could self-isolate.
Once one occupant is infected, there is nothing to stop the spread of the virus to his or her housemates. They are dry tinder in a viral wildfire's path.
Most farmworkers do not own vehicles, traveling to the fields in overcrowded vans or buses. They also live in rural areas with limited access to hospitals or health services. In much of Florida, hospitals are concentrated on the coasts, serving retirement communities full of seniors at high risk of developing complications if infected with the new coronavirus.
It may be too late for prevention or containment among farmworkers. But without action the human toll will be tragic and the effect on our food supply will be critical failure.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Centers for Disease Control, and state governments must include farmworkers and agricultural communities in their emergency response plans.
Public health services in rural communities are already stretched thin but support from federal and state agencies could help to establish field hospitals in agricultural areas. Temporary housing might at least get farmworkers out of overcrowded quarters. Farms and work crews could deploy more vehicles or transport workers in smaller groups. Handwashing stations could be scattered liberally throughout the fields, at the bus stops, and in the farmworker encampments.
Americans have rallied around healthcare workers, raising concerns about the masks, gloves and other equipment needed to protect doctors, nurses and health workers. We must do the same for those working on the front lines of our nation's food supply.
* * *
Susan Marquis is dean of the Pardee RAND Graduate School and the author of the 2017 book "I Am Not a tractor! How Florida Farmworkers Took on the Fast Food Giants and Won."
Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
[Category: Government/Public Administration]
New York Civil Liberties Union and Legal Aid Society Sue for Release of People Jailed for Alleged Parole Violations
NEW YORK, April 6 -- New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following news release:
The New York Civil Liberties Union and The Legal Aid Society filed a class-action lawsuit against Governor Cuomo and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) challenging the unconstitutional automatic jailing of people held in New York City jails while waiting for a hearing for alleged parole violations. The lawsuit demands the opportunity for release of over a thousand people jailed in New York City jails for alleged parole violations in light of the uncontrolled spread of the
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, April 6 -- New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following news release:
The New York Civil Liberties Union and The Legal Aid Society filed a class-action lawsuit against Governor Cuomo and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) challenging the unconstitutional automatic jailing of people held in New York City jails while waiting for a hearing for alleged parole violations. The lawsuit demands the opportunity for release of over a thousand people jailed in New York City jails for alleged parole violations in light of the uncontrolled spread of thecoronavirus and the dangerous public health conditions in these facilities.
When someone is jailed for an alleged parole violation, DOCCS is required to hold a hearing within 90 days to determine whether the violation occurred and whether the person's parole should be revoked. For nearly one in five parole re-arrests the parole revocation hearing takes place after the required 90-day period, and during the coronavirus pandemic these hearings have been suspended almost completely. Before that hearing, there is no opportunity to determine if the person even needs to be in jail simply to wait for that hearing.
As a result, people are left in jail indefinitely as Rikers becomes increasingly dangerous. The lawsuit argues that people are being automatically detained during this period, in many cases now without even a probable cause hearing, in violation of their rights, often for something as small as failing to register a new address, reporting a change in employment, or for missing a meeting with their parole officer.
"During this coronavirus pandemic, crowded, unhealthy conditions in New York City's jails multiply the risks of rampant transmission of the virus and threaten the lives of over a thousand people," said Phil Desgranges, senior staff attorney from the New York Civil Liberties Union. "Unless the state takes immediate steps to release people accused of parole violations, our broken parole system will cause many people, especially the most vulnerable among us, to become seriously ill or die."
On April 3, 2020, 439 people were being held in New York City jails on technical parole violations, making up ten percent of the jail population. Of that group, 73 people had been jailed for more than 90 days, in violation of the 90-day requirement for parole revocation hearings. 23 people had been in jail for more than 180 days.
Among this group, 60 percent of people were black, 30 percent were Latinx, and 21 percent were 50 years of age or older.
"New York's parole system has long subjected New Yorkers -- the majority of whom haven't committed any criminal offense, and the vast majority of whom are people of color -- to unnecessary incarceration," said Corey Stoughton, Attorney-in-Charge of the Special Litigation Unit with the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society. "Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, we cannot continue to allow this broken system to threaten not only our clients' constitutional rights, but their very lives. Rikers Island is the epicenter of COVID-19 with an infection rate higher than that of New York City, New York State, and the rest of the country. We must act now if we are serious about mitigating the potential loss of life at Rikers Island and other City jails."
New York has the second highest reincarceration rate of people on parole in the country. In 2018, a total of 8,767 people were returned to prison on parole violations. 85 percent of people were returned for technical parole violations.
"New York's draconian parole system subjects people to prolonged re-incarceration regardless of the infraction they are accused of or the strength of allegations against them," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU. "Under normal circumstances the system is profoundly unfair and disrupts the already difficult challenge of re-entry for people who have served time in prison. But as the coronavirus turns Rikers Island even more dangerous, it's time to stop this injustice. No one's life should life should be put in danger just because they've been accused of something like breaking curfew on parole."
Attorneys on the case include Philip Desgranges, Grace Li, Molly Biklen, and Christopher Dunn from the New York Civil Liberties Union, and Corey Stoughton from The Legal Aid Society.
To learn more and review the case materials, please visit: https://www.nyclu.org/en/cases/bergamaschi-et-al-v-cuomo-et-al.
[Category: Law/Legal]
Human Rights Watch: Cambodia - Prisons Potential COVID-19 Epicenters
BANGKOK, Thailand, April 6 -- Human Rights Watch issued the following news release:
* * *
- Reduce Overcrowding by Releasing Low-Risk and Vulnerable Prisoners
* * *
The Cambodian government should take urgent measures to reduce the risk that the country's severely overcrowded prisons will suffer COVID-19 outbreaks, Human Rights Watch said.
Reducing overcrowding in prisons is important to prevent outbreaks, which would have serious health consequences for prisoners, prison staff, and the broader public. Cambodian authorities should immediately release people who should not be in custody, including
... Show Full Article
BANGKOK, Thailand, April 6 -- Human Rights Watch issued the following news release:
* * *
- Reduce Overcrowding by Releasing Low-Risk and Vulnerable Prisoners
* * *
The Cambodian government should take urgent measures to reduce the risk that the country's severely overcrowded prisons will suffer COVID-19 outbreaks, Human Rights Watch said.
Reducing overcrowding in prisons is important to prevent outbreaks, which would have serious health consequences for prisoners, prison staff, and the broader public. Cambodian authorities should immediately release people who should not be in custody, includingpretrial detainees held for minor offenses, and political prisoners. The authorities should consider alternatives to detention for prisoners with underlying health conditions, older prisoners, and women who are pregnant or incarcerated with small children.
"Cambodia's seriously overcrowded prisons are COVID-19 disaster zones waiting to happen," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Cambodia should speedily release prisoners at greater risk if infected, as well as those detained for minor offenses, and take urgent steps to ensure prisoners get adequate medical care."
As of January 2020, 18 of Cambodia's 28 civilian prisons held 23,748 detainees, including 1,614 women, 43 of them pregnant. The prisons also held 103 children incarcerated with their mothers, and 542 other children. Out of 8,855 convicted prisoners, 619 were women, 4 were girls, and 156 were boys.
In response to fears of COVID-19 in the country's correctional facilities, Cambodia's General Department of Prisons announced a temporary suspension of visiting rights on March 25. The only exception is for visitors who obtain medical certificates and undergo temperature checks upon entering prison facilities. The department instructed prison chiefs to quarantine all new detainees for 14 days in "spare rooms" before allowing them to come into contact with other inmates, but failed to provide any details about these procedures and arrangements.
Cambodia's prisons and detention centers are all well beyond maximum capacity. The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) noted there was a "220 percent rise in the number of pregnant women and young children in prison between January 2017 and August 2018." Human rights defenders have said that as many as 30 prisoners are held in highly unhygienic conditions in small cells.
Those incarcerated have limited access to water, soap, and hand sanitizer, and are in extremely close contact with other prisoners. Independent prison monitors have repeatedly pointed out the harsh conditions for pregnant women and women with children, who face "severe overcrowding, inadequate food and access to health care, scarce contact with their families, and limited time and space for children to play."
To reduce the risk of transmission in prisons, the government should routinely monitor all patients for symptoms, immediately test those who become ill, isolate those who test positive, and quarantine prisoners who were in close contact with those found to have COVID-19. International guidance provides that prisoners should also be able to maintain a distance of six feet from all other prisoners, including in housing and at meals, and guards should be routinely screened to ensure that they are not sick.
Phnom Penh's Correctional Center 2 (CC2), the only prison in Cambodia reserved solely for women and children, has an official capacity of 350 inmates. In January, CC2 held 1,850 prisoners. The death in late January of a 5-month-old baby who had fallen gravely sick while imprisoned with her mother at CC2 highlights the urgent need to find alternatives to detention for mothers with children.
The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia and Cambodian human rights groups have repeatedly urged the authorities to use pretrial detention only as a "last resort," respecting the presumption of innocence.
Human Rights Watch reiterates its call to release all political prisoners, including human rights defenders, members or supporters of the political opposition, and citizens who peacefully exercised their right to free expression.
On March 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a guide, "Preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention," which states, "Enhanced consideration should be given to resorting to non-custodial measures at all stages of the administration of criminal justice, including at the pre-trial, trial and sentencing as well as post-sentencing stages. Priority should be given to alleged offenders and prisoners with low-risk profiles and caring responsibilities, with preference given to pregnant women and women with dependent children."
The guidance says that for prisoners who are not being released, there is an "increased need for emotional and psychological support, for transparent awareness-raising and information-sharing on the disease, and for assurances that continued contact with family and relatives will be upheld." Furthermore, WHO stresses that "Adequate measures should be in place to protect persons in isolation from any form of ill treatment and to facilitate human contact as appropriate and possible in the given circumstances."
The Human Rights Watch report on the human rights dimensions of the COVID-19 response analyzed government obligations and the human rights concerns posed by the outbreak. Governments should reduce their prison populations through early release of low-risk detainees, including those in pretrial detention for nonviolent and lesser offenses, or whose continued detention is similarly unnecessary or unjustified.
Prisoners at high risk of serious effects from the virus, such as older people and those with underlying health conditions, should also be considered for release, taking into consideration whether the detention facility has the capacity to protect their health, including access to adequate treatment, and such factors as the gravity of the crime and time served. Prison authorities should publicly disclose their plans to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection in their facilities and the steps they will take to contain the infection and protect prisoners, staff, and visitors.
"The Cambodian government needs to immediately reduce the prison population while undertaking rigorous testing inside prisons to isolate those who are sick," Robertson said. "Foreign donors should urge the Cambodian government to abide by international guidance and human rights standards, which would be in the best interest not only of prisoners and prison staff, but also the Cambodian people."
[Category: International]
Human Rights Watch: Bahrain - Free Imprisoned Rights Defenders and Opposition Activists
BEIRUT, Lebanon, April 6 -- Human Rights Watch issued the following news release:
* * *
- Extend Releases to Those at Special Risk of COVID-19
* * *
Amid the global threat posed by COVID-19, Bahraini authorities should release human rights defenders, opposition activists, journalists, and all others imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, a coalition of 19 rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, said.
On March 17, 2020, Bahrain completed the release of 1,486 prisoners, 901 of whom received royal pardons on "humanitarian
... Show Full Article
BEIRUT, Lebanon, April 6 -- Human Rights Watch issued the following news release:
* * *
- Extend Releases to Those at Special Risk of COVID-19
* * *
Amid the global threat posed by COVID-19, Bahraini authorities should release human rights defenders, opposition activists, journalists, and all others imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, a coalition of 19 rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, said.
On March 17, 2020, Bahrain completed the release of 1,486 prisoners, 901 of whom received royal pardons on "humanitariangrounds." The remaining 585 were given non-custodial sentences. While this is a positive step, the releases so far have excluded opposition leaders, activists, journalists, and human rights defenders - many of whom are older and/or suffer from underlying medical conditions. Such prisoners are at high risk of serious illness if they contract COVID-19, and thus ought to be prioritized for release.
"Bahrain's significant release of prisoners is certainly a welcome relief as concerns around the spread of COVID-19 continue to rise. Authorities must now speedily release those who never should have been in jail in the first place, namely all prisoners of conscience who remain detained solely for exercising their right to peaceful expression", said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Middle East director of research. "We also urge the authorities to step up measures to ensure full respect for the human rights of all those deprived of their liberty."
Opposition leaders imprisoned for their roles in the 2011 protest movement remain behind bars. These include Hassan Mushaima, the head of the unlicensed opposition group Al-Haq; Abdulwahab Hussain, an opposition leader; Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, a prominent human rights defender; and Dr Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, the spokesman for Al-Haq.
Other prominent opposition figures, including Sheikh Ali Salman, secretary general of the dissolved Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society (Al-Wefaq), also remain imprisoned. Sayed Nizar Alwadaei, who was deemed arbitrarily detained by the United Nations in "reprisal" for the activism of his brother-in-law, the exiled activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, and human rights defenders Nabeel Rajab and Naji Fateel have not been released either. Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has documented that a total of 394 detainees of the 1,486 released were imprisoned on political charges. According to Salam for Democracy and Human Rights, another Bahraini nongovernmental group, 57 of the 901 prisoners who received a royal pardon were imprisoned for their political activities, while the rest were given non-custodial sentences. Since the Bahraini government has not made available any information on the charges for which those ordered released had been convicted, the exact figures cannot be verified. However, it is clear that people imprisoned for nonviolent political activity are in the minority of those released.
Scores of prisoners convicted following unfair trials under Bahrain's overly broad counterterrorism law have been overlooked and denied early release or alternative penalties, even though other inmates serving considerably longer sentences were freed. This includes Zakiya Al Barboori and Ali Al Hajee, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD).
Conditions in Bahrain's overcrowded prisons compound the risk of COVID-19 spreading. The lack of adequate sanitation led to a scabies outbreak in Jau Prison - Bahrain's largest prison - and the Dry Dock Detention Center in December 2019 and January 2020. Almost half of the Dry Dock Detention Center's prison population was infected. In 2016, a governmental Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission found buildings at Jau Prison to suffer from "bad hygiene," "insect infestation," and "broken toilets."
Furthermore, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the UN have expressed their concern over the authorities' persistent failure to provide adequate medical care in Bahrain's prisons. This has endangered the health of some unjustly imprisoned persons with chronic medical conditions, such as Hassan Mushaima and Dr Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, who may now be at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19.
Hassan Mushaima, 72, has diabetes, gout, heart and prostate problems, and is also in remission for cancer. Prison authorities have routinely failed to take him to appointments due to his refusal to submit to wearing humiliating shackles during transfers to his appointments. International human rights mechanisms have said that the use of restraints on elderly or infirm prisoners who do not pose an escape risk can constitute ill-treatment.
Dr Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, 57, has post-polio syndrome and uses a wheelchair. Prison authorities have also refused to transport him to his medical appointments due to his refusal to wear shackles.
"As the world faces the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, it is more important than ever that the international community work together to contain its spread and ensure that the health and rights of the vulnerable are protected," said Husain Abdullah, executive director at Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB). "Bahrain's allies, in particular the United Kingdom and United States, should explicitly call on Bahrain to secure the release of all those solely imprisoned for their peaceful opposition to the government."
States have an obligation to ensure medical care for all those in their custody at least equivalent to that available to the general population and must not deny or limit detainees equal access to preventive, curative, or palliative health care. Given that conditions in detention centers pose a heightened public health risk to the spread of COVID-19, and the persistent failure to provide an adequate level of care to those in their custody, there are grave concerns about whether prison authorities could effectively control the spread of COVID-19 and care for prisoners if there is an outbreak inside Bahrain's prisons.
The Bahraini authorities should seize the opportunity to immediately and unconditionally release everyone imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to free expression, including Hassan Mushaima, Dr Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, Abdulahdi Al-Khawaja, Abdulwahab Hussain, Nabeel Rajab, Naji Fateel, and Sheikh Ali Salman. The convictions of those imprisoned following unfair trials - including Sayed Nizar Alwadaei - should be quashed, or at the very least they should be released pending fair retrial.
The risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to those in detention should be a strong factor weighing toward the reduction of the prison population through the release of pretrial detainees, particularly given the poor, unsanitary conditions in Bahrain's prisons and the inadequate provision of medical care. In addition, prisoners who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19, such as those with underlying medical conditions and the elderly, should be considered for early release, parole, or alternative non-custodial measures as a means to further reduce the prison population and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In any event, the authorities should ensure that anyone who remains in custody has access to disease prevention and treatment services, including ensuring physical distancing of prisoners at all times, including in housing, eating, and social areas. Prison authorities should screen all guards to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 into prisons, provide appropriate information on hygiene and supplies, and ensure that all areas accessible to prisoners, prison staff, and visitors are disinfected regularly. They should develop plans for housing people exposed to or infected with the virus in quarantine or isolation and ensure that necessary medical care is available.
"Bahrain's first wave of prison releases was positive, but insufficient," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities should further reduce the prison population by releasing those who are imprisoned solely for their political beliefs or for exercising their right to free speech and peaceful assembly. Meanwhile, the authorities should ramp up efforts to ensure that the remaining prison population has access to the medical care, is protected from transmission, and is provided the information that they need to combat the COVID-19 pandemic."
Signed by:
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
Amnesty International
ARTICLE 19
Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR)
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
English PEN
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)
Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GC4HR)
Human Rights First (HRF)
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
IFEX
Index on Censorship
International Service For Human Rights (ISHR)
PEN America
PEN International
REDRESS
[Category: International]
Human Rights First Sues for Release for Immigrants in CA, Asks Federal Court to Protect Clients From Coronavirus Outbreak
LOS ANGELES, California, April 6 -- Human Rights First issued the following news release:
As the Department of Homeland Security continues to ignore calls to release immigrants from detention, Human Rights First filed a federal lawsuit aimed at securing the release of migrant detainees vulnerable to COVID-19 infection in Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
"Unable to engage in social distancing and left with inadequate access to sanitation and medical care, the almost 40,000 people held in civil immigration detention are at high risk of contracting this virus," said Hardy Vieux, vice president, legal,
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, April 6 -- Human Rights First issued the following news release:
As the Department of Homeland Security continues to ignore calls to release immigrants from detention, Human Rights First filed a federal lawsuit aimed at securing the release of migrant detainees vulnerable to COVID-19 infection in Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
"Unable to engage in social distancing and left with inadequate access to sanitation and medical care, the almost 40,000 people held in civil immigration detention are at high risk of contracting this virus," said Hardy Vieux, vice president, legal,at Human Rights First. "The solution is for the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Trump administration to do everything possible to fast-track the release of all detainees eligible for release, end in-person hearings, and expedite telephonic hearings. So far we've seen no action toward these solutions, so we are asking the court to act to protect our clients and the public health."
Human Rights First has, in recent weeks, urged state and local governments, including Gov. Newsom of California, to release those held in ICE custody. But ICE continues to detain vulnerable individuals in conditions ripe for the spread of disease, even in detention centers where staff and/or other detainees have already tested positive for COVID-19.
The suit was filed with co-counsel from Morgan Lewis & Bockius in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, on behalf of four female plaintiffs detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Adelanto, one of the largest immigration detention centers in the country, currently detains almost 2,000 women and men and has been the subject of numerous DHS Office of Inspector General reports highlighting subpar conditions and care.
"If the Department of Homeland Security does not act immediately to reduce its immigration detention population, COVID-19 is likely going to spread rapidly throughout its immigration detention centers, overburdening the detention center medical care program and surrounding community hospitals, resulting in likely deaths," testified Dr. Craig Haney in support of the plaintiff's request for release. Dr. Haney is an expert on immigration detention who has provided expert consultation to federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and Homeland Security.
One of Human Rights First's clients, Elvira, is a 26-year-old woman seeking asylum from Cameroon who has a history of asthma and immediate relatives in the United States who could house her if she were to be released from detention. A medical expert in the filing, Dr. Parveen Parmar, who works at the Los Angeles County and the University of Southern California Emergency Department, testified in the filing to Elvira's vulnerability to COVID-19, stating, "It is those with respiratory conditions who do worst."
Wendy, another plaintiff is a 49-year-old woman originally from Honduras with significant disability, whose pain and chronic conditions, to date, have not been adequately addressed in detention at Adelanto. Wendy is wheel-chair bound and reliant on other detained women to assist her to survive day-to-day in the detention center.
Another plaintiff, Agustina, is a 56-year-old woman, originally from Mexico and has multiple medical problems, including asthma, high blood pressure, and a history of abnormal liver function tests. She states she has sought medical attention for a cough and sore throat and was told to "gargle saltwater." Dr. Parmar believes her symptoms are consistent with infection with COVID-19 and, according to ICE protocol, these symptoms mandate isolation and testing. She, however, remains in a dormitory with at least 20 women in Adelanto, many of whom are also reportedly coughing.
"As a physician who has reviewed thousands of pages of health care provided to dozens of individuals in detention, including to many individuals detained at Adelanto, I am deeply skeptical that the existing health system can identify and appropriately treat COVID-19," said Dr. Parmar. "The combination of crowding, inadequate access to hygiene, as well as substandard medical care in ICE detention facilities, and specifically in Adelanto, put these four women at risk of significant morbidity and mortality resulting from infection with COVID-19. I recommend their release."
Human Rights First has documented the detrimental impact of detention on immigrants in California. Immigrants in detention suffer grave psychological and physical health consequences and often lack access to counsel and due process.
Click here for a copy of the: Petition for Writ of Habeus Corpus (https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files/Eyere%20v%20Wolf%20-%2001%20Petition%20and%20Complaint.pdf)
Click here for a copy of the: Temporary Restraining Order (https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files/Eyere%20v%20Wolf%20-%2005-1%20TRO%20MPA.pdf).
[Category: Sociological]
Hospital Preparedness for PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center
VANCOUVER, Washington, April 6 -- PeaceHealth issued the following news:
The team at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center's collective efforts to prepare for the anticipated influx of COVID-19 patients include:
* Restricted visitors and non-essential individuals who enter the medical center to reduce the risk of transmission.
* Implemented temperature screens for anyone entering our buildings. Those with a temperature or other COVID-19-related symptoms are turned away, including employees.
* Cancelled or postponed all elective procedures to conserve hospital resources for critically ill patients
... Show Full Article
VANCOUVER, Washington, April 6 -- PeaceHealth issued the following news:
The team at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center's collective efforts to prepare for the anticipated influx of COVID-19 patients include:
* Restricted visitors and non-essential individuals who enter the medical center to reduce the risk of transmission.
* Implemented temperature screens for anyone entering our buildings. Those with a temperature or other COVID-19-related symptoms are turned away, including employees.
* Cancelled or postponed all elective procedures to conserve hospital resources for critically ill patientsand curb the spread of the virus by limiting the number of otherwise healthy people in our facility.
* Worked in collaboration with Whatcom Unified Command other local healthcare providers to initiate a communitywide response to the anticipated surge in the number of COVID-19 patients needing hospitalization, including combining resources to meet the growing need for supplies.
* Readied internal areas to triage, evaluate and treat larger numbers of COVID-19 patients. In addition, we have the capability to use an external triaging area, i.e., a tent located outside of the ED, should volumes exceed our internal capacity.
* Implemented a Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) conservation plan to ensure that we are stocked with the resources our caregivers need to remain safe.
The safety of our caregivers and community is our #1 focus. We are prepared!
[Category: Health Care]
