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

Health & Justice

Table 4 Case identification and intervention 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 verbal symptom screening occurring on site	48	96%		X		X		X
Staff temperature checks occurring on site	44	88%		X		X		X
Residents moved to medical isolation when COVID+	43	86%		X		X	X
Testing available to residents who are symptomatic	41	82%		X	X		X
New resident intakes/transfers are screened	40	80%	X			X	X
Residents being mass tested at any point^a	36	72%	X			X	X
Residents moved to medical isolation if they were in contact with someone who tested COVID+	30	60%		X		X	X
Residents moved to medical isolation when COVID test results are pending	29	58%		X		X	X
Suspended resident medical co-pays for COVID-19 or related symptoms	20	40%	X		X		X
Staff testing required at facility	17	34%		X		X		X
Staff testing available but not required on-site	12	24%		X	X			X
Suspended resident medical co-pays fully	11	22%	X		X		X
Staff testing optional through private health care provider	6	12%		X	X			X
Testing available to anyone in the facility upon request	2	4%		X	X		X	X
% of policies monitored of total in category			28.6%	71.4%	42.9%	57.1%	64.3%	42.9%	0%

^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