Phoenix, April 23 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of Arizona, asylum seekers jailed at the La Palma Correctional Center near Phoenix are receiving waivers from CoreCivic, freeing the for-profit prison company from liability if immigrant prisoners contract COVID-19.  In exchange, CoreCivic will provide prisoners with a single face mask to use indefinitely.  The forms, written in Spanish, read in part: “I understand and accept that I must complete and sign this form in order to use a face mask at CoreCivic facilities.”

In related news, in Texas, two dozen asylum seekers at the for-profit Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas have tested positive for COVID-19.

In Ohio, more than 1,800 prisoners and over 100 prison staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Marion Correctional Institution.  The prison is now the nation’s leading coronavirus hot spot.

In Arkansas, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday that nearly 40% of the state’s coronavirus cases are concentrated at the Cummins maximum-security prison, where some 850 prisoners have tested positive.