Filed Under Covid at Rikers

Orlando Irizarry, Covid Experience at Rikers

Orlando Irizarry was incarcerated at Rikers Island when COVID-19 first hit the facility in 2020. We captured his story as part of our oral history program. He describes how his severe anxiety about surviving the virus and surviving Rikers made him wonder if he would make it out alive. (video made with @headlinervideo)

April 21, 2021
“Orlando Irizarry, Covid Experience at Rikers,” Rikers Public Memory Project Archive, accessed October 17, 2026, http://archive.rikersmemoryproject.org/items/show/151.