Driven by an exploding number of cases among inmates at the Marion Correctional Institution, Marion County, Ohio, which has a population of less than 70,000 according to the last census, has registered a more than 2,500 percent increase in the past seven days.
For much of the past month, national attention has been focused on large coronavirus-stricken metropolitan areas like New York, but over the past week, a small county in Ohio has had such an alarming surge in coronavirus cases that it has drawn the attention of government agencies responsible for containing the outbreak.
The minimum- and medium-security men’s prison in Marion County, with around 2,600 inmates, appears to prove that point. There are currently more than 2,000 cases in Marion Country, according to official statistics, and the vast majority of those are inside the prison. The number of cases outside the prison are also increasing, however.
While overcrowding at Ohio’s prisons has been cited as the main factor contributing to the explosive growth in coronavirus cases, a separate DHS report notes that a shortage of personal protective equipment has been a “contributing factor” to the outbreak there. DeWine has recommended the early release more than 100 inmates, including a victim of sex trafficking convicted of killing her pimp, whose case was championed by reality star Kim Kardashian. But those releases fall far short of what is needed to address overcrowding, according to critics.
While DeWine took a number of key steps early on, Chevrier notes that the ACLU warned him in letters dating back to March 10 that action needed to be taken at the prison.
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