HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A call Tuesday to protect those who are incarcerated from COVID-19.

Protesters gathered outside the State Capitol on Tuesday calling for Governor Ned Lamont to sign an executive order mandating the state safely release certain individuals who are incarcerated in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

They also want the governor to follow his earlier promise to include inmates in the same COVID vaccine rollout phase as all others in congregate living situations.

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One protester addressed the crowd saying, “No one is sentenced to suffer and die in a pandemic. Public health evidence shows that prisons and jails are among the least healthy places in a pandemic. Failure to protect incarcerated people from COVID-19 hurts people in prisons, jails, families, and friends.”

Thirteen inmates in CT have died from COVID-19 complications during the pandemic.