This testimony was a declaration from the May 7, 2020 filing of a new class action lawsuit over jail conditions related to COVID-19 on behalf of prisoners at Santa Rita Jail against the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
I am currently an inmate in Santa Rita Jail, the County Jail for Alameda County. I am afraid that my asthma puts me at a high risk if I were to become infected with COVID-19. When I went to court on April 6, 2020, I was not given a mask or gloves, which I fear created a greater likelihood that I would become infected with the virus. Before going to court, I was placed in a dirty holding cell that was also holding six to seven other people. I believe I should have been held in a cleaner space either in isolation or in a space more conducive to social distancing guidelines.
Before going to court, I was placed in a dirty holding cell that was also holding six to seven other people. I believe I should have been held in a cleaner space either in isolation or in a space more conducive to social distancing guidelines.