KEY POINTS

  • Jay-Z has joined hands with Meek Mill in donating 100,000 face masks to prisoners
  • The co-founding partners of Reform have also donated 2.6 million masks and 2,000 ventilators
  • COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have already surpassed 330,000 

A few days after donating $1 million to help the people affected by the pandemic, rapper Jay-Z has joined hands with Meek Mill in giving 100,000 face masks to prisoners, so that the deadly virus could not spread in prisons.

Jay-Z and Mill are the heads of Reform Alliance, an organization that was set up to reform the current justice system by changing some of its questionable policies. The duo helped in distributing the masks in various locations like Tennessee, Rikers Island, and Parchman.

The official Twitter page of the company confirmed the news and noted everyone should think about the “vulnerable” people behind bars.

“We just donated 100k masks to people behind bars… that includes 50k to #Rikers, 40k to @TNTDOC1, and 5k to #ParchmanPrison. Thank you to out friend @ShakaSenghor for leading this charrrge. We need to protect vulnerable people behind bars and get them out! (sic)” the organization said.

They announced later that their co-founding partners also donated more than 2.6 million masks, 2,000 ventilators, and 170,000 goggles for the people working in New York.

Speaking about the donations, Jessica Jackson, the chief advocacy officer at Reform told CBS News that they are really worried about the people who come in and out of the facility and the situation could get worse because those people are like “sitting ducks” during the pandemic.

"It is a very vulnerable population. We are really worried about the number of people coming in and out of the facility,” Jackson said.

The news comes after it was recently reported that the virus could spread rapidly among the people who are behind bars due to the lack of space. The lack of space makes it difficult for them to practice social distancing, which is touted to be the most important part of being safe from the illness.

As of late, 231 inmates and 223 staff members at New York City jails tested positive for the virus.

The U.S. is now the worst-hit nation with more than 330,000 cases and 9,618 deaths. New York is the only state in the world to have 123,018 cases so far. None of the other states have touched the 100,000 mark. On the other hand, the worldwide cases of coronavirus are now more than 1.2 million.

Jay-Z and Meek Mill
Meek Mill and Jay-Z have formed Dream Catchers Records. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter (L) and Meek Mill attend the launch of The Reform Alliance at John Jay College on January 23, 2019 in New York City. Getty Images/Kevin Mazur
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