In Episode 11 of Dr. Dave On Call, we discuss the COVID-19 response in the Illinois prison system with Dr. LaMenta Conway, Deputy Chief of Medicine for the Illinois Department of Corrections. The Marshall Project has been tracking how many people in each US state have been sickened and killed by COVID-19 in prisons. As of May 27, there have been roughly 35,000 cases among prisoners with about 18,000 reported recovered. Jails are high-risk populations, as it can be difficult to implement physical distancing within the population because of finite space for inmates. Further, many prisoners have high-risk underlying conditions like lung disease, diabetes, heart disease or their immune systems may be compromised. The infrastructure of jails are varied by the states and counties they reside in. For example, in some prisons, extensive testing, tracing and mitigation efforts have been implemented on a large scale level to combat the spread of COVID-19. There are other groups of people who are at risk in these facilities, such as correctional officers, nurses, chaplains and wardens. These are also a potential source of COVID-19 and specific policies need to be implemented with these groups of individuals so that they may not be the source of spread to prisoners. Dr. LaMenta Conway outlines the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) aggressive COVID-19 pandemic response and discusses the specific policies and programs IDOC has implemented to address the COVID-19 pandemic in the jail system. The IDOC instituted an administration quarantine early on during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to keep inmates safe from the disease. This means a reduction of normal movement for prisoners, like time outside and in communal areas. A creation of a medical quarantine was necessary as well, to isolate those individuals who were COVID-19 positive. As the number of prisoners who were testing positive, "tent cities" were imperative for to separate COVID-19 positive patients from the general prisoner population. Moreover, specific care locations were created for high-risk prisoner patients. The Illinois Department of Corrections took early steps to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic. Their mitigation efforts in conjunction with PPE and sanitization use, coupled with source control allowed IDOC to control the COVID-19 cases within prisons. Further, the use of medical furloughs provided a reduction in non-violent prisoners, to reduce the possibility of COVID-19 infections. Earned discretionary credit also provided early-release for prisoners as well. Increased testing and contact tracing have been fundamental processes to control the spread of COVID-19 in Illinois prisons. Sources: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/01/a-state-by-state-look-at-coronavirus-in-prisons (https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/01/a-state-by-state-look-at-coronavirus-in-prisons) More questions, please visit us: https://drdaveoncall.com/wp/ (https://drdaveoncall.com) Email us: hello@drdaveoncall.com Tweet us: https://twitter.com/drdaveoncall (https://twitter.com/drdaveoncall) Call us and leave us a voicemail: 1-877-DrDave5