Thousands of federal offenders can prepare for a truly Merry Christmas after learning they will be allowed to remain on home confinement following their release in March 2020 to stop the spread of COVID-19, per CNN. 

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel declared in January that when the COVID-19 emergency ended, the Bureau of Prisons would be compelled to recall all convicts placed in extended home confinement under the CARES Act. They’ve since switched courses. 

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“Thousands of people on home confinement have reconnected with their families, have found gainful employment, and have followed the rules,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, noting that he was taking necessary steps to live up to the CARES Act. 

“We will exercise our authority so that those who have made rehabilitative progress and complied with the conditions of home confinement, and who in the interests of justice should be given an opportunity to continue transitioning back to society, are not unnecessarily returned to prison.” 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, was passed at the start of the pandemic as a comprehensive reaction to COVID-19. According to one of the clauses, the virus poses a hazard to densely populated prison environments. 

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CNN reported more than 36,000 inmates have been placed on home confinement since March 2020, with 7,700 remaining after more than 25,000 served their terms.