R. Kelly Is ‘Social Distancing’ in Federal Prison Because of Coronavirus

R. Kelly is doing his best to practice “social distancing” at Chicago’s federal jail to avoid coronavirus, the same way people outside of jail are taking precautions to stop this deadly viral outbreak, his lawyer told Vulture.

“I think it’s fair to say that he’s trying to follow the same advice as the rest of us, and be smart, and you know, stay away from others,” said Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg. “He’s practicing whatever level of social distancing you can practice in jail.”

“He’s concerned because he’s in probably the worst possible situation, in terms of social distancing, that you could be in,” Greenberg said at one point. Kelly’s coronavirus concerns come in the wake of reports that producer turned convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein tested positive for COVID-19 in prison.

R. Kelly is presently in jail awaiting trial on sex-abuse and racketeering charges. He has maintained his innocence.

Greenberg said that while Kelly has generally kept to himself since being jailed, he is doing this more in the wake of COVID-19. (Jails and prisons are the kind of close quarters that make key preventive measures — such as avoiding close contact with others — incredibly difficult.) Kelly does have a cellmate, Greenberg said.

According to the jail’s website, the facility houses 640 inmates. Visits to the facility have been suspended, the website also said.

“He is not in isolation, nor has he asked to be put in any isolation. He generally stays in his cell as much as possible, so that’s sort of like the rest of us who are living at home,” he said. “I don’t know that you can totally isolate.”

Greenberg said he didn’t know whether the jail had increased access to things such as soap and hand sanitizer.

Is Kelly washing his hands more? “It’s a jail, so I don’t know,” Greenberg said.