In late March, as the first COVID-19 cases appeared in Zimbabwe, health care workers went on strike because of the lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs)—citing their incapacity to provide professional care without necessary preventative measures in place. Without health care workers, hospitals could not offer treatment and were forced to turn away patients with critical needs.

Watch our special update call on AFSC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this week, UNICEF officials in the occupied Palestinian territory called for the immediate release of Palestinian children from Israeli military detention in light of the COVID-19 pandemic—a key voice joining the chorus of advocates, including AFSC, working to end these human rights violations.  

Emma Hattemer is an intern with AFSC's New York Healing Justice Program and New Jersey Prison Watch. She is a recent graduate of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration in U.S. empire and peace.

Across the U.S., communities are advocating for the release of people in prisons, jails, and detention centers, where forced proximity to others and lack of adequate health are particularly dangerous during a pandemic. In New Jersey, eight people in prison have died from COVID-19. And at least 63 people in prison and 309 staff members have tested positive. Although New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order approving the release of certain people from state-run prisons to slow the spread, none have been released.