Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics calls for effective safeguards against the spread of coronavirus in New York's prisons intensified March 30, after Michael B. Powers, the president of the Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, tested positive for COVID-19. Powers said corrections officers need more personal protective equipment at their disposal to guard against getting sick while on the job. "Each day that our members are prohibited from wearing protective equipment, they are exposed to being infected and spreading the virus inside and outside of the facilities," he said. At the same time, criminal justice advocates continue to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo to release vulnerable incarcerated people from the state prison system over concerns for their health and safety. "As the virus continues to spread throughout the state prison system, it is just a matter of time before a lack of action will turn fatal. We call on Governor Cuomo to immediately grant clemencies to the many elder New Yorkers and other immune-compromised people before it’s too late,” the group Vocal New York said in a statement. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.