[Update: 2:45pm EST] According to one phone zapper who spoke with Chris Gautz, the Media Representative for Michigan DOC, Gautz reportedly stated that, “There has been a confirmed flu outbreak that we are taking the necessary precautions to meet.” When asked if these prisoners have been tested for the coronavirus Gautz reportedly stated, “No prisoners have met criteria to qualify for the test. So no prisoners have been tested.”

As Coronavirus (COVID19) is sweeping the globe, the United States continues to fail at putting in place necessary public health precautions. We know that the deaths that have already and will continue to occur are a direct result of capitalism, imperialism, and climate chaos. In these times we must remember our incarcerated friends and loved ones who are made most vulnerable to this virus. Prisons, jails, detention centers, and juvies are already incubators of disease and widespread medical neglect, and it is our responsibility in the free world to advocate for incarcerated people, who are disproportionately chronically-ill and lack access to proper medical care or hygiene products.

Due to COVID19 Iran has already released 70,000 incarcerated people and in Italy, there have been riots in at least 26 facilities. The bare minimum we can do is ensure that our people inside have access to the basic things they need to stay healthy.

According to inside sources there appears to be a current outbreak at Macomb Correctional Facility in Michigan: https://rustbeltradio.org/2020/03/10/coronamacomb/ 

Please take a few minutes to make calls demanding justice for our comrades in Macomb CF.

Who to Call:

Michigan Department of Corrections Director: Heidi E. Washington

517-335-2243

Bureau of Health Care Services: Marti Kay Sherry

517-335-2252

Macomb Correctional Facility: Warden Willis Chapman

586-749-4900

Call Script:

“Hello, I am calling concerning the current Coronavirus outbreak at Macomb Correctional Facility. According to sources inside the prison there are over 40 suspected cases of COVID19 in the mental health unit as of March 10th, and people are still being denied testing for COVID19. If this mass scale medical neglect continues, it will result in preventable illness and deaths spreading throughout and outside of the facility, exacerbating an already dire public health crisis. What plans are currently in place to address the outbreak at Macomb?

 We demand that you:

1. Provide free access to sanitation products, 
2. Provide doctor’s visits upon first request, including free testing for COVID19, and 
3. Provide free and full access to phonecalls, and
4. We demand that you release all chronically ill and elderly people in Macomb Correctional Facility.” 

Tips for Making Calls:

• Be firm but polite, insist on speaking to the person you are calling for
• Leave a message if no one answers
• Refuse to give any information that you may be uncomfortable sharing with the state (e.g. full legal name, organizational affiliation, etc.)
• Record phone-calls whenever possible and send recordings to fighttoxicprisons@gmail.com
• Send any new information gathered from calls to fighttoxicprisons@gmail.com or Tweet @FightXPrisons