TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Apr 23, 2020

 The Tennessee Department of Corrections is launching a hotline for people with friends and family behind bars to call and ask COVID-19 related questions, WPLN News reports. The department says a “live analyst” will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer questions about COVID-19 testing, the prison system’s response to the pandemic and the protective measures that have already been taken. TDOC Commissioner Tony Parker in a press release said inmates have been encouraged to stay in “close contact” with their families, but multiple people with incarcerated family members have told WPLN they have had trouble getting in touch with loved ones in recent weeks. TDOC says all inmates and employees have been given masks and that officials are using contact tracing to track COVID-19 in prisons, but do not plan to test all inmates at this time.