Rikers Island jail, known as New York City’s most notorious jail, is in the middle of a COVID-19 outbreak as the number of confirmed cases has increased over the past 10 days, according to CNN. 

On Dec. 20, the number of inmates testing positive was 9.5%, and it increased to over 17% on Dec. 21. 

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“The combination of these data indicates that the risk to the human beings in our custody are at a crisis level,” Department of Correction Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said in a letter advising the DOC the release of detainees. “All indications suggest that our jail population faces an equal or greater level of risk from COVID now as it did at the start of the pandemic.” 

Additionally, Schiraldi added that only 45% of the incarcerated population has gotten one shot of the vaccine and 38% is fully vaccinated. 

According to data from the New York City Department of Correction, 76 inmates tested positive for the virus from Dec. 19 to 20. Currently, over 5,000 inmates reside at Rikers Island, according to CNN. 

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“I implore you to ask the courts to similarly consider every available option to reduce the number of individuals in our jail,” Schiraldi said in the letter. “Whether that means seeking supervised release in more cases or identifying cases that can be resolved with modifications to sentence length or requesting compassionate release for individuals who are at higher risk due to underlying medical conditions, I leave to your professional judgment.” 

This disturbing development is happening in large part due to the rise of the omicron variant.