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.
What’s happening in your region? To share news updates please email Catalin Ungureanu catalinungureanu@icpa.org
Page 1 of 15
Five Luksar jail inmates donate plasma for Covid treatment
September 23, 2020
Five inmates from Luksar jail, who had recovered from Covid-19, donated their plasma on Tuesday to help other patients recover from the infection.
351 jails infected with COVID-19, infections in prisons rising fast: National Campaign Against Torture
September 16, 2020
New Delhi: The National Campaign Against Torture (NCAT), a rights group based in New Delhi, in its report titled ‘The Status Of COVID-19 In Indian Prisons’, stated that out of the 1,350 jails in India, COVID-19 infections have been reported from at least 351 jails in 25 out of total 36 States or Union Territories of the country as of 31 August 2020.
Emergency parole of prisoners in Maharashtra will be automatically extended: Bombay HC
September 16, 2020
Prisoners released on emergency parole from jails in Maharashtra will continue to enjoy the leave as long as the notification, issued by Maharashtra government on May 8 for decongesting prisons in the wake of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, is in force.
Maharashtra: Families of Prison Inmates with Co-morbidities and Age Issues Worried, Only Those Without Serious Offences Released
September 16, 2020
Activists have been demanding the release of prisoners on health grounds. So far, six inmates have died of COVID-19 in prisons across state and 1,772 prisoners have tested positive out of total 11,267 tests conducted as per the Prison Department data.
38 inmates, 2 jail personnel contract COVID
September 16, 2020
Thirty-eight inmates and two jail personnel – a custodian and a nurse – of the Iloilo City District Jail – Male Dormitory in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Kazakh Prisoners Packed In Cells, Endure ‘Degrading’ Conditions In Coronavirus Lockdown
September 14, 2020
Yulia Ilchenko hasn’t seen her imprisoned husband since March, when Kazakhstan locked down its 82 penitentiaries as part of nationwide measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Two Covid positive inmates escape from temporary prison in fourth such incident
September 10, 2020
Two undertrial prisoners, who had tested positive for coronavirus and were lodged in a government hostel in Pune designated as a temporary prison, escaped in the early hours of Thursday. This is the fourth such incident in which inmates have fled from the temporary prison.
Hong Kong lawmaker questions whether prisoner was punished for refusing Covid-19 test
September 10, 2020
A Hong Kong lawmaker has questioned whether prisoners are being forced to undergo Covid-19 testing, saying he had received a report that a detainee who refused to take part was sent to solitary confinement.
Malaysia fears new COVID-19 cluster
September 7, 2020
A new cluster of novel coronavirus cases is feared to have emerged in a Malaysian town after a football referee tested positive for the disease, local media reported Monday.
Covid-19: 14 new cases, outbreak spreads from lockup to prison
September 3, 2020
Malaysia has reported 14 new Covid-19 cases in the 24-hour period up to noon today, of which 10 were locally acquired infections.
Pakistan’s PM orders release of sick, older female prisoners
September 2, 2020
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday ordered authorities to release from prison all female prisoners who suffer from physical or mental illness or who are age 55 or older.
Officials fear things for the worse in Nepal’s overcrowded prisons as four inmates die in central jail
September 1, 2020
After the death of four prisoners in central jail, one of whom tested positive for the coronavirus, on Tuesday, the overcrowded prisons have become a cause for concern for officials.
Stretched beyond capacity, coronavirus fears lurk in Andhra Pradesh’s central prisons
September 1, 2020
The four central prisons in Andhra Pradesh have over 112% occupancy, according to the latest data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Inmates Released From Overcrowded Prisons Due to COVID-19 Are Struggling
August 31, 2020
From spending quarantine out in the open fields to being denied jobs—prisoners and social workers in India grapple with the strange new world of freedom.
Covid-19: five more convicts test positive from Hulhumalé jail
August 30, 2020
Five more convicts from Hulhumalé Prison have tested positive for the global Covid-19 pandemic.
33 more inmates test Covid positive in Naini Central jail in Naini Central jail in Prayagraj
August 30, 2020
As many as 33 inmates at Naini Central Jail were diagnosed with Covid-19 on Sunday, after testing negative for the infection about 10 days back.
Covid prisoners in Barmer jail upload videos of pathetic condition inside.
August 28, 2020
A couple of videos of the 126 inmates who tested positive in Barmer jail on Wednesday have gone viral on social media with claims from the prisoners they were being kept like cattle stuffed in two wards.
Six detainees in Hulhumalé test positive for Covid-19
August 27, 2020
Six detainees at Hulhumalé Detention Center test positive for the global Covid-19 pandemic.
42 prisoners, Deputy jailer of Jabalpur jail test positive for coronavirus
August 27, 2020
The transfer of prisoners stopped amid the corona pandemic to prevent the infection from spreading.
Over 1300 prisoners in AP jails have contracted COVID-19 so far:Director General of Prisons
August 27, 2020
A total of 1,375 prisoners in various jails in Andhra Pradesh have contracted the coronavirus infection so far and only one of them has succumbed,Director General of Prisons Mohd Ahsan Reza said on Thursday.
ICPA is a non-governmental organisation in Special Consultative Status