This story was reported for IVNSanDiego.org in August 2020.
Gilbert Polanco is described as a man who was “proud of his job” and represented “the best of CDCR.” After working at San Quentin State Prison for three decades, Polanco became infected with COVID-19 and died Aug. 9 — two weeks before his 30th wedding anniversary. He was 55.
Polanco is one of nine California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) employees to have died from COVID-19, a disease that, according to staff who spoke anonymously to IVN San Diego, described as a wildfire spreading through the prison system that’s already claimed the lives of 54 inmates. These employees say there’s limited control of the wildfire-like spread due to testing delays and inadequate tracking procedures.
“It’s a complete failure on the part of the department to take seriously testing, contact tracing… to take seriously the importance of protecting its staff and how that it relates to protecting inmates,” said one CDCR employee. “There’s clear evidence of causation when you have a positive staff member and their patients — in this case, inmates — get positive results. The pandemic is like a California wildfire in the prisons. It just takes one spark. Employees are that spark.”
As of Aug. 14, the CDCR reported 1,040 active cases of COVID-19 among inmates at its more than 30 institutions across the state. More than 7,700 inmates have recovered from the disease, according to the department.
Read the full story at IVNSanDiego.org.