Inmates to wear masks in prisons
PRISONERS will be told to wear face coverings amid fears jails could become a hotbed for coronavirus to spread.
Medical-grade face masks were made mandatory for prison officers earlier this month, but concerns were raised that they would not be effective if prisoners were able to meet visitors without wearing face coverings, and were then able to mix with other inmates.
Fears had also been raised by the Prison Officers Association Scotland (POAS) union that face coverings may make it harder to identify offenders if a disturbance breaks out.
A new rule agreed by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and POAS means from today prisoners must wear a mask when it is not possible to socially distance.
Prisoners working in common areas are already required to wear face masks, for example if delivering meals.
It will be down to individual prisons to carry out a risk assessment, depending on whether there is a static population of prisoners which could be deemed to be a ‘bubble’, or if a lot of change in the prison population occurs.
Six prisoners are reported to have died with coronavirus since the pandemic began. Around 350 have been released early on electronic tags in a bid to reduce the risks of infection.
Concerns had been raised after a prison officer at Low Moss jail in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, tested positive for coronavirus forcing 50 colleagues to self-isolate earlier this month.
HMP Low Moss is a remand prison which holds prisoners serving sentences of varied length and has a capacity of 7 4.
The SPS said inmates at HMP Shotts, in Lanarkshire, which holds around 553 men and is a long-term prison, will not need masks as ‘there is not a lot of movement’ and people occupying the same floor or hall are in a ‘bubble’.
An SPS spokesman said: ‘Prisoners will now need to wear face coverings in circumstances where they aren’t able to socially distance.
‘Some prisoners undertaking some tasks such as delivering meals are already wearing face masks.
‘What we are doing is following the same rules on face coverings which exist when people visit supermarkets.’