ACLU Letter Re: COVID-19

BY EMAIL AND CERTIFIED MAIL
March 12, 2020
Nolan Espinda Shari L. Kimoto

Director Deputy Director for Corrections
Office of the Director 919 Ala Moana Boulevard, 4th Floor
919 Ala Moana Boulevard, 4th Floor Honolulu, HI 96814
Honolulu, HI 96814 shari.l.kimoto@hawaii.gov
psd.office.of.the.director@hawaii.gov
Re: COVID-19 Response Plan
Dear Director Espinda and Deputy Director Kimoto:
We are writing to urge you to immediately develop evidence-based and

proactive plans for the prevention and management of COVID-19 in the correctional
and detention facilities under the oversight of the Department of Public Safety. We
would like to schedule a call with you within the next two weeks to discuss how you
are protecting the health of the over 5,000 people in your custody—including
persons housed in Arizona—as well as the people who work for the Department.
People in prisons and jails are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of

contagious illnesses. They are housed in close quarters and are often in poor health.
Without the active engagement of correctional staff, they have little ability to
inform themselves about preventive measures, or to take such measures if they do
manage to get such information.
We ask that you immediately reach out to the Department of Health to

develop plans to address the virus in the prison and jail system. This is an urgent
and important matter. Having an appropriate, evidence-based plan in place can
help prevent an outbreak and minimize its impact if one does occur. Not having one
in the middle of a declared pandemic may cost lives.
March 12, 2020
Page 2 of 3
While the plan should be developed collaboratively by your department and

the Department of Health, some of the critical issues that such plan must address
include:
• Education of the people in your custody: People housed in the prisons

and jails need to be informed about the virus and the measures they can take
to minimize their risk of contracting or spreading the virus. They must be
educated on the importance of proper handwashing, coughing into their
elbows, and social distancing to the extent they can. Information about the
spread of the virus, the risks associated with it, and prevention and
treatment measures must be based on the best available science.
• Education of the staff: Correctional, administrative, and medical staff

must be educated about the virus to protect themselves and their families, as
well as the people in their custody.
• Staffing plans: Regardless of how many staff stay home because they are
sick, the prisons and jails will need to continue functioning. There must be a
plan for how necessary functions and services will continue if large numbers
of staff are out with the virus.
• Staffing plans for services provided by prisoners: Many tasks in

prisons, such as food preparation and basic sanitation, are performed by
prisoners and detainees. The plans for an outbreak must also address how
necessary tasks performed by prisoners and detainees will continue if large
numbers of people are ill.
• Provision of hygiene supplies: The most basic aspect of infection control is

hygiene. There must be ready access to warm water and adequate hygiene
supplies, both for handwashing and for cleaning.
• Screening and testing of the people in your custody: The plan must
include guidance, based on the best science available, on how and when to
screen and test people in your facilities for the virus.
• Housing of persons exposed to the virus: The plan must describe how
and where people in the prison system will be housed if they are exposed to
the virus, are at high risk of serious illness if they become infected, or become
sick with it. This should not result in prolonged, widespread lock-downs. Any
lock-downs or interruptions in regular activities, such as exercise or visits
and phone calls with families or attorneys, should be based solely on the best
science available and should be as limited as possible in scope and duration.
March 12, 2020
Page 3 of 3
• Treatment: Courses of treatment must be evidence-based, available

immediately, and in compliance with scientifically-based public health
protocols.
• Vulnerable Populations: The plan must provide for additional precautions

for those who are at high risk of serious illness if they are infected, such as
pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses, compromised immune
systems, or disabilities, and people whose housing placements restrict their
access to medical care and limit the staff’s ability to observe them. The
Department may also want to also consider exercising its authority to release
or recommend release of people held in jail and prison under Haw. Rev. Stat.
§§ 353-10, 353-36 and other relevant policies and statutes.
• Data collection: The collection of data regarding COVID-19 will be part of

the public health response. As with any contagious disease, data collection is
critical to understanding and fighting the virus. Your Department must be
part of this process. The same information that is tracked in the community
must be tracked in prisons and jails.
• Intergovernmental coordination: In the event of an outbreak at any of

your facilities, the Department should immediately notify the Governor, the
Judiciary, the Legislature, the Office of the Public Defender, and relevant
Prosecuting Attorney’s Offices and Police Departments so that they may take
the risk posed by COVID-19 into consideration in exercising their power and
discretion.
Please let us know when you will be available to discuss your plans with us.
We would appreciate a prompt response acknowledging receipt of this letter and
proposing times to talk by March 16, 2020. In the meantime, I can be reached at
(808) 522-5908 or mcaballero@acluhawaii.org.
Sincerely yours,
Mateo Caballero
Legal Director
cc: Bruce S. Anderson, MPH, Ph.D.

Director, Department of Health
Bruce.S.Anderson@doh.hawaii.gov

ACLU Letter Re: COVID-19

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BY EMAIL AND CERTIFIED MAIL

March 12, 2020

Nolan Espinda Shari L. Kimoto

Re: COVID-19 Response Plan

Dear Director Espinda and Deputy Director Kimoto:

We are writing to urge you to immediately develop evidence-based and

People in prisons and jails are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of

We ask that you immediately reach out to the Department of Health to

While the plan should be developed collaboratively by your department and

• Education of the people in your custody: People housed in the prisons

• Education of the staff: Correctional, administrative, and medical staff

• Staffing plans for services provided by prisoners: Many tasks in

• Provision of hygiene supplies: The most basic aspect of infection control is

• Treatment: Courses of treatment must be evidence-based, available

• Vulnerable Populations: The plan must provide for additional precautions

• Data collection: The collection of data regarding COVID-19 will be part of

• Intergovernmental coordination: In the event of an outbreak at any of

cc: Bruce S. Anderson, MPH, Ph.D.

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