Policy and public communication methods among U.S. state prisons during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Health & Justice

Table 3 Prevention policies

*Policy Description*	*Frequency*		*Policy Type*		*Policy Form*		*Who Policy Primarily Affects*
*Policy Description*	N	%	DOC-specific	Public health	Expand access	Mandate change	Resident	Staff	System
Staff masks provided by DOC^a	46	92%		X	X			X
Resident masks provided by DOC^a	46	92%		X	X		X
Increased facility cleaning	46	92%		X		X			X
Staff required to wear masks^a	38	76%		X		X		X
Extra cleaning products provided to residents at no cost	32	64%		X	X		X
Staff self-quarantine 14 days after positive	21	42%		X		X		X
Residents must always wear masks^a	21	24%		X		X	X
Residents have the option to wear masks but not required^a	21	42%		X	X		X
Staff have option to wear masks	17	34%		X	X			X
Sanitizer is available in limited locations	17	34%		X	X				X
Sanitizer is made widely available	15	30%		X	X				X
% of policies monitored of total in category			0%	100%	63.6%	36.4%	36.4%	36.4%	27.3%

^aNote: No policies were mutually exclusive and percentage values indicate whether a policy has ever been released. Thus, policies that may seem as though they should total to 100% (e.g., staff masking optional and staff masking required) will not. Policies changed over time and therefore prison systems could have had both policies in place at some point during the pandemic

ISSN: 2194-7899