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Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has received high marks for his handling of the coronavirus. He has remained calm and clear while issuing urgent warnings about the crisis.

But there is at least one group of New Yorkers whom Cuomo hasn’t done much to protect: elderly prisoners. Without quick action, too many of them will die from Covid-19.

Older prisoners tend to be in fragile health, and many lack regular access to doctors. Prisoners also don’t have the option to practice social distancing. They live in close quarters, are frequently patted down and often wait in lines. When the virus begins to spread inside prisons, their sentences could quickly turn into a death sentence. “There will be dozens if not hundreds of deaths if they are kept inside when the virus hits,” Nina Morrison, an attorney at the Innocence Project, told me.