Saratoga, NY – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is calling on Governor Cuomo and the Bureau of Prisons to prioritize the immediate implementation of safety precautions and PPE for North Country state and federal prisons amid the COVID-19 crisis.
“North Country Correctional Officers and their families are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus crisis, and the state has been slow to act on their concerns in implementing precautionary measures to mitigate the spread,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “My office asked for prisons to stop prisoner transfers and visits weeks ago, and New York was too slow in implementing those changes. Additionally, I am calling for an immediate prioritization of personal protective equipment for correctional officers, and enhanced information sharing between both federal and state prisons and county public health offices for the safety and health of corrections officers and our entire North Country community. Our correctional officers and prison officials do important work that must continue during the COVID-19 crisis, and the lack of PPE is unacceptable. As it stands right now, Correctional Officers are not allowed to bring their own PPE from home. I will continue to work with state and local officials to ensure this issue becomes a top priority for the state and federal bureau of prisons.”
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