This study describes COVID-19 case rates and deaths among federal and state prisoners in the United States and compares them with the general population. Results show that COVID-19 case rates have been substantially higher and escalating much more rapidly in prisons than in the US population, with infection rates exceeding 65% in several facilities.

The authors also found that by June 6, 2020:

• There had been 42 ,107 cases of COVID-19 and 510 deaths among 1,295,285 prisoners
• The case rate was 3,251 per 100,000 prisoners, which was 5.5 times higher than the US population case rate of 587 per 100 ,000
• The crude COVID-19 death rate in prisons was 39 deaths per 100,000 prisoners, which was higher than the US population rate of 29 deaths per 100,000
• Individuals aged 65 years or older comprised a smaller share of the prison population than of the US population (3% vs 16%, respectively) and accounted for 81% of COVID-19 deaths in the US population
• The adjusted death rate in the prison population was 3.0 times higher than would be expected if the age and sex distributions of the US and prison populations were equal
• The COVID-19 case rate was initially lower in prisons but surpassed the US population on April 14, 2020
• The mean daily case growth rate was 8.3% per day in prisons and 3.4% per day in the US population