E-40 Donated 1,000 Gallons Of Hand Sanitizer To California Prisons
Bay Area legend E-40 stepped up to make sure that staff and prisoners at the USP Lompoc and San Quentin State Prison prisons have hand sanitizer during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was just heavy on my mind to do it. I know it's almost impossible to keep social distancing when you're incarcerated ‘cause everybody is compacted ,” E-40 told ABC 7. “I know that it was a need for supplies and whatnot, so I just decided to play my position.”
The rapper, investor, and entrepreneur reportedly reached out to some of the distilleries he does business with to make the hand sanitizer he donated.
“I said, Let me get 1,000 gallons and send them up to San Quentin and Lompoc prisons. I hope that it makes a good impact.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 70 percent of the Lompoc prison complex’s population has been infected with over at least 832 confirmed positive cases. This is the largest outbreak that any prison system has experienced in the U.S. There have been no confirmed cases among San Quentin’s population, but six staff members did test positive for COVID-19 according to the latest federal report.
More than 3,500 inmates have been released from California state prisons so far, but activists have been calling on states to expedite the process as inmates are more vulnerable to contracting the illness due to the tight confines and lack of protective measures at the facilities they are housed at. Nationwide, more than 2820 federal inmates and 266 personnel have tested positive for COVID-19.
For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
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