Authorities in the US state of California, particularly affected by the Covid epidemic-19, have announced that they will release about 8,000 additional prisoners to curb the spread of the Corona virus emerging in its overcrowded prisons.
The California Department of Prisons Administration said Friday that these prisoners will be able to demand early release at the end of August, similar to the 10,000 others who have been released since the start of the health crisis.
"These initiatives aim to ensure the health and safety of prisoners and staff," said director of the department, Ralph Diaz, in a statement.
The announcement, praised by prison reform supporters, comes after an increase in cases of the Covid-19 epidemic in San Quentin, one of the oldest prisons in California, where more than a thousand injuries have been recorded among prisoners.
"This is one of our greatest concerns at the moment," said California Governor Gavin Newsom in late June, noting that 42 percent of the approximately 3,500 prisoners in this prison near San Francisco are considered "medically weak".
The number of injuries in San Quentin prison is about half the number of those registered in state prisons, which includes a total of about 113,000 prisoners.
The statement stated that the prisoners to be released, including those from Saint Quentin, will undergo a Covid-19 epidemic examination during the week after their release.
In California, the largest US state in a population with 40 million people, it recorded more than 300,000 injuries and more than 6,800 deaths.
