On March 30, at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York, 58-year-old Juan Mosquero died in isolation after exhibiting serious COVID-19-related symptoms. Across the country families are under extreme stress over the fate of incarcerated loved ones, including Cassandra in Virginia, who says, “My husband is currently incarcerated here in a Virginia prison. He currently has health concerns that worry me. Making him subcetable and at higher risk of the Corona virus [sic].” We are in a crisis on multiple fronts right now, and one such crisis at a breaking point with COVID-19 is our mass incarceration rate — the highest in the world — and crowded detention facilities in which we have totally inadequate health protections. This is no small crisis. There are 2.3 million people behind bars. On any given day, 600,000 people are held pretrial in jails mostly because they don’t have enough money to be home with their families. Moreover, 38,000 people are currently being held in ICE detention centers. The spread of COVID-19 is a national emergency that threatens potentially millions of lives. While everyone is at risk, we have a moral obligation to ensure that our most vulnerable—the elderly, the sick, those without medical care, and those unable to protect themselves from the virus—get the help that they need. Tell your governor to take action now!

According to data collected by John Hopkins University and reported by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, this weekend Missouri led the country with a 600% increase in the number of cases reported. As of Sunday at 3:00 p.m. according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there were 903 Cases of COVID-19, including 12 deaths. As faith leaders we are concerned about the most vulnerable Missourians who were at risk long before COVID-19 became a part of our lexicon. These neighbors include the under and uninsured including 83,000 uninsured children, our unhoused siblings, financially insecure, immune compromised, poor, disabled, incarcerated and immigrant Missourians. The U.S. Census reported that the number of uninsured Missourians grew in 2018 to approximately 564,000 with close to 100,000 children being uninsured. As you are aware, Missouri legislators have refused to expand Medicaid putting more Missourians at risk. The rapid spread of COVID-19, the inaccessibility of testing to all Missourians and the lack of treatment available forces uninsured and low income Missourians to be at risk for needing life-saving health care they cannot afford or premature death. These conditions overlay one health crisis on top of another. Next week marks the beginning of “Holy Week.” Christians across the world and in Missouri will observe Good Friday. In the words of Rev. Dr. Robert Hill, “Easter weekend should not lead to additional crucifixions, one Good Friday is enough.” That week also is the beginning of Passover, Rabbi Doug Alpert reminds us, “There is no greater value in Judaism than Pekuach Nefesh-the sanctity of human life.” Help us to preserve human life and decrease the opportunity for additional deaths. We are concerned that many of our neighbors, congregants and even family members will not be passed over by COVID-19 because you have refused to issue a clear order to shelter in place. Across the state some local mayors and county officials have rightfully issued shelter in place orders but the lack of a statewide shelter in place order has caused confusion and given some the erroneous implication that this pandemic is not dangerous. We need clear leadership from the highest office in the state to ensure that faith communities and families don’t misinterpret the lack of a shelter in place order for the state of Missouri, as a license to proceed with worship and other gatherings during these highly regarded religious holidays. This would lead to more illness and death. In doing so people of faith across Missouri could proclaim our faith and hope as people using all of our God-given resources to enhance life and a shared and fruitful future.

We are urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to develop a comprehensive plan and make available funds for virtual programs including tele-counseling, virtual art programs, that will support children mental health and well-being. Investing funds into community-based organizations who have been supporting our children and families many years before this pandemic is crucial to ensuring our children are holistically safe. Virtual support such as this will provide a healthy and much needed outlet for our children to interact and receive crucial services while practicing social distancing. Our children are our priority. We are asking you to sign our petition to make sure all New York State children well-being is supported. We are in this together.

If first responders or essential workers catch the virus, they will spread it rapidly by their high-contact jobs. If they themselves cannot work, there will be many unnecessary deaths. If healthcare workers cannot take care of the sick, many will die. If the supply chain is broken, many will be affected and die without needed medicine and food. It is counter productive to have all 50 states bidding against each other during this crisis.

1. This petition seeks to prevent further COVID-19 spread in detention camps. The health of every individual in the United States of America is important and must be protected. Immigrants in detention are kept in close quarters, which does not allow for social distancing. 2. Confirmed COVID-19 cases in detention often are responded to with solitary confinement. This has been proven to have detrimental mental and physical health consequences. 3. Several cases of COVID-19 have already been found in immigrant detention centers. 4. Immigrant detention centers have well-documented issues with providing adequate medical care. Refer to Human Rights Watch and Detention Watch Network reports on the lack of medical care and deaths in detention. 5. Immigrant detention centers are closing off their facilities to visitation because of the pandemic. This further isolates the individuals, families, and children. 6. Community and governmental responses are needed not just to release folks from detention, but to ensure that they have access to safe housing, adequate healthcare, and access to meeting their basic needs. Not everyone has family or friends with whom they can go live with, particularly during this pandemic that requires social distancing. 7. They must be released.

President Trump's recent comments comparing his Presidential briefings on the deadly coronavirus pandemic with a reality show named "The Bachelor" is clear indication that he does not have a grasp of the reality of his surroundings or the seriousness of the current state of The Union. He appears to believe that he is still on a reality television show.

Gov. Cuomo announced this week that there are many private companies willing to join this effort but they need the capital to do that, and it has to come from the Federal Government. We've heard of many companies around the country pitching in who are trying to finance without federal aid. In World War II, the government at first tried to lure private industry using financial tools such as tax incentives and write-offs of capital investments. They lost valuable time before they realized it wasn't going to work that way so, using the DPA, they had to guarantee the companies they would purchase the products they needed. IF you agree that we don't have the luxury of time, will you please join this petition to send this message?

Because of the covic-19 virus that is deadly. The Arizona Department of Corrections prison is not equipped to handle this covic-19 virus, it is putting these people in a unhealthy and unclean environment.Workers and prisoners a like. The extreme measures that are being ask of people around the World to follow 6 feet distance, and no more than 10 gatherings to avoid the spread of the covic-19 virus. Inmates and those who work there are in such a dire situation. That needs to be ruminate by officials in authority with the power in their hands to perform this much needed task.

Every day, Drs, nurses, assistive personnel, dietary staff, environmental service staff, grocery store employees and others are being put on the frontline, many without the proper protection. This, not only risking their own wellbeing, but also their families, and those they come into contact with. According to the Department of Labor, this warrants hazardous pay. https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/hazardpay Demand what we are due!

Recently, the Health Care Authority has temporarily allowed interpreters who cover Medicaid interpreting appointments to work from home while being compensated at their current rate of pay during this COVID-19 situation. On the other hand, L&I has chosen to require medical and vocational providers to only use pre-approved vendors in the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) contract when needing interpreters over the phone. This includes companies like Language Link, and Lionbridge. This is causing extreme hardship to independent interpreters who cover face to face L&I appointments, being obligated to remain at home without any means to support their families. If the HCA was able to quickly find a solution for their interpreters, why can't Labor & industries? As this COVID-19 situation develops, we need to do whatever it takes to help our economy. Please join us and ask the Department of Labor and Industries to do what's right for the majority of workers which are independent interpreters, not just a few companies. While we are at home and staying healthy, we shouldn't be worried that L&I will give our jobs to out of state companies.

Having more testing kits is an essential step in flattening the curve. Currently COVID positive people are handling our food, checking out our groceries or medications, delivering our mail, flying, medically treating people, infecting their friends and families. We NEED MORE TESTING KITS, and COULD HAVE THEM WITHIN A WEEK. More Testing Kits will SAVE LIVES. POSSIBLY YOUR'S OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE. By flattening the curve sooner, and lower we will all be able to get back to our normal lives more quickly and the ECONOMIC IMPACT of this disease will be dramatically decreased.

Our very lives depend on these selfless individuals, who are fighting a war on our behalf. They are truly heroes and this is the least we can do to thank them for their service.