Political Quotes

“I want to thank the Judiciary Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for organizing the trip to Irwin County Detention Center. I was one of those who went to witness firsthand what was going on. I want to thank Representative Jayapal for this resolution and her leadership in this matter. As a medical and public health expert, I have found three gross categories of violations in Irwin County Detention Center. One is there were not sufficient precautions to prevent COVID-19 from causing an outbreak in the facilities. There was only one mask issued upon arrival, and the second mask was not issued until the day before we arrived, knowing we were going to arrive. Some women were there for 6, 7 months. The second is that there was a COVID-19 positive patient in the facility, yet at the medical quarters, nobody was wearing an N95 mask, which could put the staff and other people in jeopardy. The COVID-19 patient was reported to be in isolation during the time that we were there. Furthermore, the second problem in public health is the lack of hygiene maintenance in the facility. There were reports that the curtains were infested with mold. There was mold in the showers. Clothing hadn't been washed. They were issued sweatpants and sweatshirts; they were visibly dirty and torn. When I inspected the showers myself, I saw that, in fact, there was mold in the showers. The curtains were replaced the day before or 2 days before we had arrived.…”