Special Report: 'Death Sentence' - the hidden coronavirus toll in U.S. jails and prisons

FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian walks across the street in front of Wayne County Jail amid an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Emily Elconin/File Photo

(Reuters) - When COVID-19 began tearing through Detroit’s county jail system in March, authorities had no diagnostic tests to gauge its spread. But the toll became clear as deaths mounted. First, one of the sheriff’s jail commanders died; then, a deputy in a medical unit.

"Working in the Wayne County Jail has now become a DEATH sentence!” the head of the deputy sheriffs’ union, Reginald Crawford, wrote on Facebook as the losses mounted.