California officials on Friday said 8,000 more inmates would be released early from the state prison to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among both inmates and prison staff. 

This came after more than one-third of the inmates and staff at the San Quentin State Prison in the San Francisco Bay Area turned out to be positive for coronavirus.

A report from the USA Today said the inmates could be released by the end of August, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced.

The pending release of inmates marks the largest release effort the state has taken since news of COVID-19 began to spread in prisons.

Who Can be Released?

According to a report from The Hill, an inmate should have a year or less left on his sentence to be eligible for release. They have to be serving for crimes that are not violent like domestic violence.

They have to be free from sentences that require a sex offender registration and have not been considered at high risk for violence.

Inmates aged 30 years or older will be considered right away, while those of ages 29 and under will have to be considered on a case-to-case basis.

Inmates at "high risk" like those 65 years old and over or those with chronic health conditions can also be considered for release.

Those who will qualify for early release has to be tested for COVID-19 within seven days after their return to society, the department said in a report from NPR.

The department further noted that it is also reviewing the list of inmates, who need to serve 180 days or less for their sentence. About 4,800 people may qualify for release by the end of July.

Health and Safety in Prisons

There had been calls to address the coronavirus outbreak at San Quentin prison. More than 200 staff work in San Quentin and over 1,300 inmates have active cases. Local news reports said, at least six inmates have already died due to the coronavirus.

The number of prisoners had been reduced by 10,000 since mid-March to also prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The officials were met with intense pressure to do a large-scale release to avoid a bigger infection bubble inside prisons and nearby places.

"There are many people kept in these places that 'spread poor health'," said Jay Jordan of Californians for Safety and Justice in a press release.

For Jordan, supporting the Californian population also includes the health and safety in prisons.

Meanwhile, Anne Irwin, Smart Justice California Director, believed that the state made a right decision in order to protect the lives of people inside the prisons and the communities that surround them.

Apart from San Quentin, other prisons that are part of the plan for early release of inmates are California Institute for Men in Chino, Folsom State Prison, and five others.

California has set a new record of deaths in a day from the coronavirus last Thursday with 149 deaths and more than 7,000 new COVID-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic, the state saw more than 300,000 cases in total.

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