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other inmates in protective custody. Additionally, psychology and medical staff check on the defendant daily, MDC legal staff are highly attuned to any complaints the defendant has raised, and following initial complaints about the defendant's diet early in her incarceration, the MDC has ensured that the defendant receives three full meals per day and has access to commissary from which she can supplement her diet.
The MDC has taken numerous steps to strike the balance between the security of the institution and providing the defendant with adequate time and resources to prepare her defense. In that vein, many of the searches the defendant complains of—such as searches after every visit, searches of her cell, pat downs when she is moved, and directing her to open her mouth for visual inspection (while the searching staff member is wearing a mask)—are the same searches to which every other inmate is subjected for the security of the institution. MDC legal counsel has assured the Government that MDC staff does not record or listen to the substance of the defendant's calls and visits with legal counsel. To the extent MDC staff conducts additional searches or monitoring of the defendant, MDC legal counsel has indicated that those steps are necessary to maintain the security of the institution and the defendant.
With respect to the defense concerns regarding COVID-19, the Government recognizes, as it did in its initial bail briefing, that the virus presents a challenge at any jail facility. At least for this defendant, the MDC's precautionary measures appear to have worked. When the defendant was potentially exposed to the virus, she was placed in quarantine, remained asymptomatic, tested negative, and then was released from quarantine. As the Court found at the initial bail hearing, the defendant has no underlying health conditions that would place her at greater risk of complications from COVID-19. (Tr. 89). For that same reason, the Court should again reject the suggestion that the pandemic warrants the defendant's release.