Take precautions against COVID-19 in jails, other detention facilities: MHA to states

NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked all states to take precautions against a COVID-19 outbreak in jails and correctional homes and ensure proper hygiene at such facilities. In a communication to all states and Union Territories, the Home Ministry said the novel coronavirus is a global health crisis and has affected a huge population the world over.

The virus which causes the disease is highly infectious and even pre-symptomatic people can infect others, and any person who is in close contact with someone who has suspected or confirmed COVID-19 is at risk of contracting the disease, it said. "People in prisons and other places of detention, living in closed and crowded environment, are likely to be more vulnerable to the coronavirus disease," the Home Ministry said. Moreover, it said, experience shows that prisons, jails and similar settings where people gather in close proximity may act as a source of infection, amplification and spread of infectious diseases within and beyond prisons.

Prison health is, therefore, widely considered as public health. Any control strategy for COVID-19 in the community which does not encompass the prison context will not be sustainable, the ministry said.

"It is, therefore, considered essential that health-care teams of States and UTS should work with the custodial and detention staff in prisons and other places of detention, following the national guidelines and protocols on the subject issued by the government of India from time to time," it said.