New York City has released 900 inmates in response to coronavirus pandemic

New York City has released 900 inmates to avoid the risk of coronavirus spreading in the city’s jails, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Tuesday.

De Blasio made the announcement at a press briefing while reporting that a second member of New York City’s corrections department had died from the disease.

The mayor added that corrections officers remain “resolute” in their efforts to keep themselves and inmates safe from the virus even as city officials have reported dozens of inmates under quarantine around the city.

De Blasio announced last week that the city would release hundreds of nonviolent offenders, with those accused of offenses such as domestic abuse not eligible for release. Advocates have warned that jails and prisons are hotspots for the transmission of coronavirus due to the close proximity of inmates.

“It is a very complicated dynamic, it’s one that we’ve literally never dealt with before,” the mayor said last week of his efforts to control the coronavirus spread.

“I’m listening to all the input. … But I want to make very clear that I’m making the ultimate decisions, taking in the advice from all these different sources and doing what I think is the right thing for this city,” he added.