Covid Chronicles--Prison Edition, Chapter Two

 The coronavirus continues to spread throughout MTU. Rumor has it that all but fewer than 200 prisoners have now tested positive (out of roughly 1200). The administration continues to move prisoners around from housing unit to housing unit, ostensibly to put all the positive cases in certain units and the negative cases (and recovered prisoners) in other units. Avoiding lawsuits by appearing proactive seems to be the motivation for such moves, while in actuality the moves are spreading the virus faster throughout the institution. 

On Friday, six of us prisoners who had tested positive were moved from our unit to the "negative" unit, just 10 days after we tested positive. I still have a cough, stuffy nose, and no taste or smell. Apparently, I must not be contagious any more, though, since I was moved to the "negative" housing unit. We were not retested before we moved. It is unclear why we were moved. Nobody was moved into our emptied beds, so the moves appear pointless. As has been the case this entire pandemic, evidently nobody has a plan. Moves are haphazard, and prisoners are on edge, not knowing whether they will have to move (again) at any moment. 

When I moved I was placed in an empty cell, so I have no bunkie at the moment. I have unpacked just enough of my property to use what I need, but I anticipate another move back to my original housing unit within the next couple of weeks. When I was in the "positive" unit, we were allowed between 30 and 90 minutes of yard time right outside our unit, only at night. During the beautiful weather last week, we were not allowed outside at all or only for a short time at night. Now that the weather is back to cold and rainy, yard schedules have changed, and prisoners in each unit are allowed slightly more yard time. 

The disruption of a pandemic, as even free people know, is very frustrating. But we are making the best of it. Many prisoners are volunteering to help clean the housing units and pass out food. I've begun to exercise again, which feels great after weeks of being nearly sedentary. I have to build up my stamina again after so little movement for weeks. Although college classes are paused until we can go to the school building again, many of us college students have completed as much work as we are able. We're anxious to finish our semester, but we do not know what this pandemic delay will mean for the rest of the school year. 

Most of the prisoners who have been sick with the coronavirus have had mild symptoms. Most report a scratchy throat, cold symptoms, and losing taste and smell. Others, like me, have had slightly worse symptoms that include body aches, headaches, and a fever. A few have had bad symptoms, including dehydration, nausea, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. Some of these prisoners have had trips to the hospital, and according to reports one prisoner at MTU died from complications from the coronavirus. He was in my guitar class, although I didn't really know him. 

Someone asked me recently what the election results have meant in prison. I hear other prisoners talk about the election, but it's been hard to focus on anything but the sickness spreading throughout the prison. Some prisoners are happy about the results, and others are angry. But mostly, we just want to be healthy, get out of prison, and put our lives back together. Neither party inspires much hope in making that goal come to pass any sooner. 

Despite all the frustration we've experienced over the last few weeks, including the lack of communication and poor planning on the administration's part, I feel optimistic. Since so many of us have been sick, we expect that within a few weeks we will return to "normal" operations, that is, still under restrictions but back to regular movement within the facility. Perhaps this is too optimistic, but while 2020 has been an epic disaster in many ways, it is almost over. It's been a tough year with no visits from loved ones, restricted movement, no in-person college classes, abysmal playing by the Michigan football team, moronic pandemic management, and political chaos the likes of which many of us have never seen. Perhaps the New Year will usher in a new, new normal, one that leads to healing and joy again. That's what I'm hoping for.