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New York City jails will pause in-person visits as the rate of coronavirus spread hits “crisis level,” The Post has learned.
The commissioner of the Department of Correction, Vincent Schiraldi, said in a memo to jail staffers, obtained by The Post, that the suspension would go into effect Wednesday and be a temporary measure to help stall the spread.
The move comes a day after Schiraldi implored public defenders to ask court “to consider every available option to reduce the number of individuals in our jail.”
Schiraldi said in the letter the positivity rate in jails, where 38 percent of the inmate population is fully vaccinated, had hovered around 1 percent for months but has spiked over the last ten days.
“Yesterday it was 9.5%. Today it is over 17%,” Schiraldi wrote Tuesday.
“The combination of these data indicates that the risks to the human beings in our custody are at a crisis level.”
Follow the latest news on the Omicron variant with the New York Post’s live coverage
The Omicron wave in the city jail system is the latest crisis inside lockups that have seen 16 in-custody deaths, hellish conditions and a staffing shortage.
The DOC also put religious services on hold to help slow the spread.
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