KEY POINTS

  • Video from a Los Angeles County prison in California shows inmates sharing a bottle of hot water
  • The LA County Sheriff’s Department alleges that inmates were trying to infect themselves with COVID-19 so that they can be released early
  • Sheriff Alex Villanueva blames a similar incident in mid-April for the infection of 21 inmates

Inmates in a Los Angeles County, California prison are caught on video intentionally infect themselves with the novel coronavirus, mistakenly believing that they would be released if they contracted COVID-19.

In a video released Monday (May 11) by Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, several inmates at North County Correctional Facility in Castaic drank from just one bottle of hot water.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that the intention to “spread the potential infection” was “obvious” when the men chose to approach each other and breach physical distancing guidelines.

Villanueva said the inmates used the bottle of water in an attempt to raise their oral temperatures right before a nurse was set to examine them. Another group of inmates was also seen breathing through a single mask.

The department also said that 21 men tested positive for COVID-19 within a week of the incident.

Officers have been reviewing surveillance video to see if inmates followed social distancing protocols after nine inmates were isolated in late April. The North County Correctional Facility did not have a single case of COVID-19 until mid-April, when video of the inmates during that time also showed the same behavior.

Villanueva told CNN that sharing a cup of water is uncommon in the prison and “in this environment, and then considering the fact that the 21 tested positive out of that module, shows what their intention was.”

The sheriff’s department has reported at least 200 positive cases of COVID-19 among inmates, with more than 4,500 inmates quarantined within the jails of LA county. Meanwhile, 107 of its personnel have tested positive with 320 quarantined.

California is among the states affected the most by the ongoing pandemic. State data show that California has 67,939 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2,770 deaths as of May 10. More than half of all cases are in patients below the age of 50.

California earlier attempted to decongest its prisons by releasing low-level offenders and inmates with less than 60 days left on their sentences. One prison in California reportedly recorded a 70% infection rate of the novel coronavirus among its inmates, sparking concerns over the safety of inmates and corrections personnel during the pandemic.

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