I Got Covid at Rikers. I’m Still Suffering.

When I arrived on Rikers Island in January 2019 to await trial for an assault charge, I knew it would be dangerous — after all, the women’s jail is notorious for chronic abuse, unsanitary conditions and violence. But what I did not know was that I would become one of hundreds of inmates at Rikers to contract the coronavirus.

I remember watching the TV in early March 2020 when a lawyer from Westchester County was reported to be the source of several cases in New York.

In the beginning, none of the officers wore masks. When we asked why, officers said they were told the masks would scare us. But we were already scared. We were glued to the television, watching Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily news conferences. It was the only time we did not argue over what to watch.

Read more from one of Hour Children’s own residents, Michele Evans, published by The New York Times.