Inmates face coronavirus risk in crowded jails

A detainee, in a rivalry case between two groups in Natore, came to the District Central Jail on March 17.

After a couple of days, he had fever, cough, body aches, and pain – symptoms matching those of coronavirus.

The inmates panicked, and finally on Friday, the prison authority declared him coronavirus-negative.  

However, the reality is, there are more than 90,000 inmates in the country – at least three times more population than the capacity of the prisons.

Public health specialists also expressed concerns that prisoners could contract coronavirus due to unhealthy and overpopulated living conditions.  

Of the country's 68 prisons, only five of them have thermal scanners.

Measuring body temperature to detect coronavirus infection is important, but this is neglected in the prisons across the country.

Moreover, the prisons have local and international prisoners, but personal protective equipment has not been guaranteed for those deployed in security.

The Department of Prisons has taken a special initiative: prisoners may now talk to their family members and relatives on mobile phones. It will ease their relatives' tension of coronavirus outbreak.

From March 24, over 90,000 prisoners across the country are now enjoying the facility. 

The department of prisons already set-up temporary telephone booths at the prisons across the country.

However, the prison authority also announced that the accused or convicted – like the top terrorist, militants, convicts of sensational cases – among others, will not get the facility.

"The special decision has been taken to stop coronavirus spreading among the inmates inside the prisons," said Colonel Md Abrar Hossain, Additional Inspector General (Prisons), also a public health specialist.

Md Abrar Hossain also told The Business Standard that all the inmates of Madaripur District Jail have been restricted until further instruction to meet their relatives and family members considering the risks and safety of civilian life.

"We will try to enact the decision among the other prisons in the country. We also urged the prisoners not to encourage their family members to meet them amid the coronavirus crisis," he added.

Using loudspeakers, the jail authorities are urging prisoners to ask their relatives not to visit prison amid the coronavirus situation – unless it is extremely urgent.

Moreover, the jail authorities have made special arrangements for meeting relatives, but the prisoners and their relatives have to maintain the safe distance. 

"People who recently entered jail are prone to being infected or spread coronavirus," said Professor Dr Md Azizur Rahman, a respiratory medicine specialist.

When asked about the steps about recently-arrived prisoners, Abrar Hossain said they have no special initiative for recently-joined inmates.

"As you asked, we will keep them under special surveillance. If anyone is positive, we will send him to a special isolation centre," he added.

The Additional IG (prisons) also mentioned that they have set up six divisional isolation centers to prevent coronavirus among the prisoners.

Md Shahadat Hossain, district prisoner of Feni told The Business Standard that they have set up the old prisons as special isolation centers. 

Md Monir Hossain, deputy prisoner of Cox's Bazar said they are also ready to deal with any untoward situation.

"If someone is infected, we will send him directly to the divisional isolation center," he added.