This page contains links to Covid-19 in prisons news from various sources and is updated daily. Use the filters to view articles from different regions/topics or use the search box to look for articles based on key words. Please note that these articles are from external sources and may not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ICPA.
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Bordeaux jail not following COVID-19 public health guidelines
August 6, 2020
An inmate at Montreal’s Bordeaux jail has told CBC most inmates have no access to masks and have been locked down in their cells 19 hours a day since March.
Ninth Delaware prisoner dies of COVID-19
August 6, 2020
Another Delaware prisoner has died of complications tied to COVID-19. Jackie Ray Lovett, 71, of Salisbury, Maryland, died early Wednesday morning at a Kent County hospital, the Delaware Department of Correction said Wednesday.
Jharkhand govt to declare all jails as containment zones
August 6, 2020
Alarmed by the recent discovery of 67 infected jail inmates and staffers at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail (BMCJ) and Pakur’s divisional jail, the state government is all set to declare prisons across the state as containment zones to ban any unauthorised entry and exit, officials said on Wednesday.
Thirty Hunger Striking Detainees Protest Poor Conditions in Israeli Jails
August 6, 2020
Thirty Palestinian detainees held at Israel’s Huwara jail have launched an open-ended hunger strike demanding the end of the ill-treatment and deliberate neglect by the Israel Prison Service.
Malawi human rights groups warn of Covid deaths in packed prisons
August 6, 2020
Human rights campaigners in Malawi are calling on the government to urgently release people from its notoriously overcrowded prisons as cases of Covid-19 are rising among both staff and inmates.
Malawi to decongest prisons with Covid-19 cases rising fast among inmates
August 6, 2020
Minister of Homeland Security Chimwendo Banda has said there’s a sudden coronavirus spike in Malawi prisons that is increasing by the day, saying President Lazarus Chakwera has pardoned the first inmate to test positive and has ordered further review.
Remember the chatter about releasing inmates early to ease spread of COVID-19? It didn’t happen
August 5, 2020
Even though Public Safety Minister Bill Blair asked prison and parole officials this spring to consider releasing low-risk inmates early due to the threat posed by COVID-19, there was no increase in the number of prisoners released during the first three months of the pandemic compared to a year earlier.
More than 500 inmates at Arizona prison test positive for COVID-19
August 5, 2020
Nearly half of the prison population at the Tucson Whetstone Unit have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR).
California Ups COVID-19 Early Inmate Release Estimate Amid Objections
August 5, 2020
State prison officials say as many as 17,600 California inmates may be released early due to the coronavirus, 70% more than previously estimated and a total that victims and police say includes dangerous criminals who should stay locked up.
After Prison Population Increase, the ACLU of Wisconsin Calls on Leadership to Reduce Incarcerated Population During Pandemic
August 5, 2020
The ACLU of Wisconsin today released a statement calling on Governor Evers and Secretary Carr to take whatever measures necessary to decrease the prison population as the COVID-19 pandemic flares up in rural communities where many prisons are housed.
PRISONS ARE THE PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS CONNECTICUT WON’T ACKNOWLEDGE
August 5, 2020
According to people incarcerated and their loved ones, state officials are ignoring the spread of COVID-19 at New Haven Correctional Center.
Prisoner turnover at one jail linked to 15% of Chicago covid cases
August 5, 2020
Prisons and jails number among the top hotspots for coronavirus outbreaks in the US – and new Harvard University research suggests that for every one person who goes into a jail, another two people in the communities they return to develop COVID-19.
In 24 hours, over 100 inmates of Dibrugarh jail test Covid-19 positive
August 5, 2020
Central Jail Dibrugarh has emerged as the latest Covid-19 hotspot after over 100 prisoners and jail staff tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a single day.
Coronavirus outbreak at Muskegon prison increases to more than 150 inmates
August 5, 2020
Barely a week after the first person incarcerated at a Muskegon prison began showing symptoms of COVID-19, mass testing at the facility has so far revealed 155 positive cases.
ASSAM: 31 JAILS HIT BY COVID-19, 1300 PRISONERS INFECTED
August 5, 2020
COVID-19 infection has taken a serious turn in the prisons in Assam as many of the inmates have been found positive for the infectious disease. Among the total 8819 prisoners of the state, around 1300 inmates have been found Coronavirus positive.
Panic as Gulu inmates test positive for Covid-19
August 5, 2020
Fear has gripped residents living around Pece Prison in Pece Division, Gulu City, after two inmates tested positive for Covid-19.
COVID-19 should finally end the inhumane practice of solitary confinement
August 5, 2020
To anyone paying attention, it’s become clear that the US prison system is inhumane and disproportionately affects the Black community.
Following a New Outbreak at an Eastern Oregon Prison, Active COVID-19 Cases Among Oregon Inmates Near 500
August 4, 2020
Newly released data from the Oregon Department of Corrections shows 491 adults in custody have COVID-19, as well as 126 corrections staff.
San Quentin faces California’s deadliest prison outbreak after latest Covid fatalities
August 4, 2020
The Covid-19 death toll at California’s San Quentin state prison hit 22 on Tuesday, in the deadliest of several outbreaks that have hit prisons across the state.
He had a ‘heart of gold’: Florida corrections officer is second to die of COVID-19
August 4, 2020
Just days after the first corrections officer in Florida prisons died of COVID-19, a second officer died of the highly infectious disease, which has infected 9,180 inmates and 1,810 officers across the state prison system. Fifty-four inmates have died.
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