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TUESDAY, June 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) — One Chicago jail is linked with nearly 16% of COVID-19<\/a> cases in the city and in Illinois, a new study finds.<\/p>\n The researchers said their findings show that U.S. arrest and jailing practices pose a major public health risk during the pandemic and need to change, especially during anti-racism protests across the country.<\/p>\n The study authors noted that the new coronavirus has spread quickly through jails and prisons across the United States, and Cook County Jail in Chicago has been a hotspot.<\/p>\n For the study, researchers analyzed the link between practices at Cook County jail and COVID-19<\/a> cases in the community.<\/p>\n The time period that suspects spend in jail between arrest and court appearances was tied to 15.9% of documented COVID-19<\/a> cases in Chicago and 15.7% of those in Illinois.<\/p>\n Between Feb. 1 and April 19, each person cycled through Cook County jails spread COVID-19<\/a> to an average of about 2.2 others, according to the study, which was recently published in the journal Health Affairs<\/i>.<\/p>\n “This is the first empirical study to show that American policing practices pose an enormous public health risk during the pandemic,” said lead author Eric Reinhart, a medical student at the University of Chicago. “It is becoming clear that policing and jailing practices are driving COVID-19<\/a> spread in American communities.”<\/p>\n It’s especially important to be aware of this link as anti-racism protests lead to thousands of arrests nationwide, the authors said in a news release from the University of Chicago Medical Center.<\/p>\n “The implications of this research are obvious: as arrested individuals are processed, the criminal justice system is multiplying COVID-19<\/a> cases by forcibly turning people into potential disease vectors for their families, neighbors and, ultimately, the general public,” Reinhart warned.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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