The Nevada prisons system says it will keep inmates' HIV status confidential, as officials continue to grapple with a warning from the Justice Department that the state has been discriminating against prisoners.
Nevada Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Keast said Tuesday that the agency will limit the number of people who will be privy to inmates' HIV status in an effort to curb alleged segregation policies in housing and job assignments.
The move is in response to a June letter from the Justice Department that accused the prisons system of systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The federal authorities slammed the state for perpetuating stigma surrounding the disease, based largely on unfounded fears about the human immunodeficiency virus' transmission.
