Overcrowded Prisons Around the World Are a Viral Danger

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Well over 11 million people are currently incarcerated worldwide — including some 2.3 million Americans. Many are held in overcrowded and poorly equipped prisons that make social distancing against Covid-19 a bleak joke. The risks such inhumane and contagious conditions pose to inmates, staff and the wider community can only be imagined, but they may soon become a reality.

— Ben Schott is a Bloomberg Opinion visual columnist. He created the Schott’s Original Miscellany and Schott’s Almanac series, and writes for newspapers and magazines around the world.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

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