California to Release 8,000 Prisoners to Slow Pandemic

California to Release 8,000 Prisoners to Slow Pandemic
A general view of Pod F at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, a ICE (Immigrations & Customs Enforcement) federal detention center privately owned and operated by prison contractor CoreCivic, amid COVID-19 outbreak in San Diego, Calif., April 11, 2020. Bing Guan/Reuters
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California will release up to 8,000 inmates early from state prisons to slow the spread of COVID-19 inside facilities, state authorities said on Friday.

Several California prisons have suffered large coronavirus outbreaks and the state corrections department said inmates could be eligible for release by the end of August.