of title 18, United States Code, that would delay a defendant from directly petitioning the court shall not apply, and the defendant may petition the court directly for relief. (2) Appointment of counsel The court shall appoint counsel for indigent defendants or prisoners, at no cost to the defendant or prisoner, as early as possible to effectuate the purposes of this section and the purposes of section 3582(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code. (3) Access to medical records (A) In general In order to expedite proceedings under this section and proceedings under 3582(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, during the covered emergency period, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall promptly release all medical records in the possession of the Bureau of Prisons to a prisoner who requests them on their own behalf, or to the counsel of record for a prisoner upon submission to the court of an affidavit, signed by such counsel under penalty of perjury, that such counsel has reason to believe that the prisoner has a covered health condition (as such term is defined in section 202(b)) or a condition that would entitle them to relief under section 3582(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code. (B) Individuals in the custody of the u.s. marshals service In order to expedite proceedings under this section, in the case of an individual who is in the custody or care of the U.S. Marshals Service, the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service shall facilitate the provision of any medical records of the individual to the individual or the counsel of record of the individual, upon request of the individual or counsel. 204. Exemption from exhausting administrative remedies during covered emergency period Section 7 of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1997e ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (i) Covered emergency period (1) Relief without exhausting administrative remedies Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, during the covered emergency period, a prisoner may