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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Inmates: ‘inhumane conditions’ at California prison amid COVID-19
May 28, 2020
After a mother heard from her incarcerated son that dozens of inmates were going without soap, sanitizer or masks at a California prison, she vowed to do something about it.
How the pandemic has affected India’s overcrowded prisons
May 28, 2020
Three remand prisoners in Kerala’s sub-jails tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. Their test results have jolted the state’s law enforcement machinery, which has shut down three police stations, sent 150 persons into quarantine, and is now scrambling to test new entrants to its correctional centres.
Alarm over five suicides in six days at prisons in England and Wales
May 28, 2020
Five suicides have been recorded in prisons in England and Wales in just six days, the Guardian understands, fuelling fears that a highly restrictive regime in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus is having a devastating impact on inmates.
Experience of health professionals, police staff and prisoners in Italy informs WHO COVID-19 guidelines for prisons
May 28, 2020
The experience of doctors in Italy has contributed to the preparation of WHO’s guidance on preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention.
Measures Put In Place To Combat The Spread Of Covid-19 In Prisons
May 27, 2020
The government has released close to 4000 prisoners and remandees to forestall an outbreak of Covid-19 among prisoners.
[Iowa] Moms behind bars nurture relationships with visitors in unusual prison garden
May 27, 2020
The garden and playscape we created at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women is changing the way incarcerated women spend time with their children, family and friends…
[Indiana] Putnamville Correctional Facility seeks fabric and elastic donations
May 27, 2020
Putnamville Correctional Facility continues to make fabric masks for the community. However, the facility is currently running out of donated materials.
Aboriginal people in prison and out-of-home care suffering under ‘punitive’ Covid-19 restrictions
May 27, 2020
Aboriginal people in prisons are going without soap, and children in out-of-home care are being refused contact with their families under “punitive” restrictions enforced due to Covid-19, a report released on Wednesday has said.
Coronavirus has exacerbated the problems with Wales’ overcrowded prisons
May 27, 2020
COVID-19 has exposed many weaknesses in Wales. One such weakness that does not, in my opinion, receive enough attention is the Welsh prison system.
An eighth person has died this month in Egypt’s prisons of alleged medical negligence.
May 27, 2020
An eighth person has died this month in Egypt’s prisons after being denied critically needed medical treatment, the Shehab Centre for Human Rights has said, amid fears that coronavirus could be spreading among prisoners.
Covid-19 Prisoner Releases Too Few, Too Slow
May 27, 2020
Governments are releasing from jails and prisons far too few people whose continued detention in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic is not justified, Human Rights Watch said today, based on a global media survey.
She is worried’: Pandemic raises fears for pregnant U.S. inmates
May 27, 2020
“Guadalupe Velazquez has a college degree, owns a flooring company and is pregnant with a baby girl due next month. Velazquez, 30, is also terrified of contracting COVID-19 in the Phoenix halfway house where she is serving her sentence on a decade-old marijuana conviction in federal court in Arizona, according to her sister and her fiance.”
COVID-19 Has Reached Haiti’s Overcrowded Prisons. Some Fear A Human Rights Disaster
May 27, 2020
With COVID-19 infections spiking in Haiti, where fevers are quickly spreading inside the country’s overcrowded prisons, hundreds of inmates risk dying of the novel coronavirus, the government’s chief ombudsman says.
More people are dying in American prisons – here’s how they face the end of their lives
May 27, 2020
Outbreaks of coronavirus have hit prison populations particularly hard – but for many inmates in the U.S., illness and the prospect of dying behind bars already existed.
Jay-Z-Backed Suit Says Company Downplayed Prison Virus Risks
May 27, 2020
An investor lawsuit backed by rap star Jay-Z is accusing Centene Corp. of providing substandard health-care at prisons during the coronavirus pandemic.
Close to 44% of coronavirus tests at Waupun Correctional Institution come back positive
May 27, 2020
Close to 44% of inmates tested so far at Waupun Correctional Institution have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Department of Corrections website. That number stands in stark contrast to the state’s overall daily testing totals, which have trended downward from 6.8% Saturday to 5.8% Wednesday.
Thai embassy helps prisons prevent coronavirus spread
May 27, 2020
The Thai embassy, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross of Cambodia, yesterday donated large quantities of sanitation supplies to the Directorate General of Prisons in a bid to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus among inmates.
Crowded prisons will set free 10,000 inmates
May 27, 2020
Close to 10,000 prisoners will be freed as part of the country’s anti-prison overcrowding campaign, Minister of Interior Sar Kheng announced on Wednesday.
Coronavirus in Maharashtra: Over 18,000 inmates to be released to ensure social distancing
May 27, 2020
If any prisoner tests positive for Covid-19, then it is the responsibility of the civic authorities and the collector to deal with the issue, the prisoner authorities told the Bombay High Court on Monday.
COVID-19 cases in prisons jump to 194; 161 are inmates
May 27, 2020
The number of COVID-19 infections at the Bureau of Corrections rose to 194, and 161 of these are convicts in the bureau’s overcrowded facilities, the Department of Justice reported on Wednesday.
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