Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prisons

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prevention and management strategies should be implemented in correctional and detention facilities to reduce the burden of COVID-19. Some prevention strategies include symptom screening at entrances, avoiding overcrowding, staggering meal and recreation times, face coverings, signage, and training. Facilities should develop info-sharing systems to manage confirmed and suspected cases, isolate those potentially infected, and offer flexible sick leave policies for staff members.[2]

The Afghan government released 10,000 prisoners on March 26, 2020. They were mostly women, young people, the critically ill, and inmates over 55 years of age.[3]

On March 16, the Australian government declared a public health emergency.[4] It has also planned to cancel all visits to the Alexander Maconochie prison starting on March 23. ACT Corrective Services commissioner Jon Peach stated that as a result there would be "increased access to telephones" for prisoners to keep in touch with their families.[5]

In May 2021, Bahrain reported a spike in its daily cases of COVID-19 to approximately 3000. As of June 2021, Bahrain has been reported to be experiencing a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, said to be 'its biggest wave of infections'. Despite the uncontrolled spread of the virus, the Bahraini government has kept political prisoners imprisoned in the allegedly overcrowded, notorious Jau prison. Sadeq AbdAli AlAsfoor, one of the prisoners was arrested in 2012 at the age of 20 and has since been inside the prison, subjected to torture and lack of medical care or healthy meals.[6][7]

As prisons fill with 30,000 protesters following the 2020 Belarusian presidential election, virus cases in prisons also increase. Cells are overcrowded, lack ventilation, and lack basic amenities and medical treatment. Guards are accused of deliberately allowing the virus to run lose for political reasons. Authorities have not released the number of prisoners with COVID-19, but rights activists say that thousands of protesters tested positive after they were detained.[8]

Hundreds of prisoners (who work outside the prison during the day) escaped from four prisons in São Paulo state after visitors were restricted and Easter furloughs were cancelled due to health concerns.[9]

The virus spread in at least four prisons in China.[10]

On March 22, 23 prisoners were killed and 83 injured during a prison riot in La Modelo in Bogota, which erupted over fears over the spreading of COVID-19 through prison walls.[11][12] Prisoners across the country have been protesting against the poor health services ever since the outbreak of COVID-19.[13]

The government is planning to release about 10,000 prisoners on the weekend of 4–5 April 2020. The release will not apply to individuals who have been convicted of sexual offenses against minors, corruption, or crimes against humanity.[14]

Due to the coronavirus, on March 13, the Czech government passed Resolution No. 204/2020 Coll which banned family members from visiting relatives in prisons and jails. Defense attorneys are exempted from the bans.[15]

Following an outbreak of alleged gang violence in late April that killed 77 people, President Nayib Bukele imposed a lockdown on imprisoned gang members from 26 April.[16] As part of the crackdown, gang members have been confined in crowded cells for 23 hours a day; cells were barricaded with plywood and metal sheets to block sunlight; mobile and wifi signals were blocked, and rival gang members were mixed together.[17][18][19] Human Rights Watch Americas director José Miguel Vivanco has condemned the treatment of prisoners as humiliating, degrading and a threat to health amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.[18]

On March 25, 4,011 prisoners were granted a pardon by the Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This pardon only applied to prisoners convicted of minor crimes who were serving sentences of up to three years, and those who were about to be released.[20][21]

On March 16, a detainee died in the Fresnes prison.[22] On March 22, a mutiny erupted in the Uzerche Detention Center, where 250 inmates had to be evacuated because their cells were unusable.[23]

On March 3, more than 54,000 prisoners were released temporarily to prevent the spread of COVID-19.[24]

Prisoners rioted in southern Iran on March 30. Since the beginning of the year, riots have broken out in prisons in Aligudarz, Hamedan, and Tabriz, with some prisoners escaping. On March 27, 70 inmates escaped Saqqez Prison in the Kurdistan province. 100,000 prisoners have been released as a measure to contain the pandemic, but an estimated 50,000 people remain in prison, including violent offenders, dual nationals and others with Western ties.[25]

On 20 March, Minister for Justice Charles Flanagan announced the temporary release of up to 200 prisoners to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading through the country's jails.[26] Prisoners were reported to be willing to work with prison officers to prevent their exposure to the virus. Social distancing measures in prisons included visible marks, the closing of gyms and recreation halls, inmates being fed in smaller groups and visits from outside disallowed. Deep cleaning occurred, the plates and mugs were replaced with hot food in single use cardboard containers. Another consequence of the virus was that less drugs found their way into the system.[27] On 10 June, it was announced that not a single prisoner among the country's prison population of 3,705 had tested positive for COVID-19.[28] On 22 August, a 23-year-old woman in Dóchas Centre became the first prisoner in Ireland to test positive for COVID-19.[29][30] On 30 October, the Irish Prison Service confirmed an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Midlands Prison after five inmates tested positive for COVID-19.[31][32][33]

An investigation was opened after six convicts died in the Sant'Anna prison of Modena from overdoses. Other events that prompted the investigation included riots in San Vittore prison and in the La Dogaia prison in Prato.

Eighty detainees escaped from Foggia's prison amid the chaos in prisons sparked by the government's new restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[34]

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) decided that only lawyers are allowed to visit prisoners in prisons and detention houses in seven prefectures (Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka), which are issued emergency declaration initially, from April 8 to May 6.[35] MOJ explained that the legal basis of the measure is the National Property Act (国有財産法, Kokuyū Zaisan Hō).[35] The Act on Penal Detention Facilities and the Treatment of Inmates and Detainees (刑事収容施設及び被収容者等の処遇に関する法律, Keiji Shūyō-shisetsu oyobi Hisyūyōsha-to no Shogū ni Kansuru Hōristu) does not have provisions for visiting restriction purpose of not spreading infectious diseases, therefore some lawyers criticized this decision.[35] On April 20, MOJ extended this measure to prisons and detention houses in six prefectures (Hokkaido, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Gifu, Aichi and Kyoto), which are designated as special alert prefectures (特定警戒都道府県, tokutei keikai todōfuken) from April 20 to May 6.[36] On April 27, immigration centers (入国者収容所), facility that accommodates foreigners have been pronounced deportation, are also subject of visiting restriction.[37]

The first case in Japan's penal detention facilities was detected at Osaka Detention House.[38] As of April 28, there were 8 officers of Osaka Detention House, 1 officer of Tsukigata Prison, and 1 defendant of Tokyo Detention House confirmed cases of COVID-19.[39]

A riot in a migrant detention center in Tenosique, Tabasco, Mexico, left a Guatemalan man dead and four people injured on March 31. The detainees were concerned about a possible COVID-19 outbreak.[40]

Mexico City began to sanitize its 13 penitentiaries and four detention centers on April 4. The number of visitors allowed was cut in half. Staff, providers, and inmates were to be tested for COVID-19. The inmates were to be given measles shots as the city is also experiencing an outbreak of measles as of April 2020.[41]

The first case in Pakistan's prisons was detected on March 24 in Camp Jail, Lahore.[42] By April 14, 59 more cases were reported in the same jail, along with 14 in Sialkot Jail, seven in Gujranwala and nine in DG Khan Jail, taking Punjab province's total to 89.[43] One case in Quetta district jail was reported on April 6.[44] There has been a discrepancy in the numbers provided by different authorities in Punjab, but according to the highest figures collated by Justice Project Pakistan, the country has more than 100 cases in prisons, as of April 13.

Detainees at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa getting tested for COVID-19.

Prisoners has been released to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in prisons in the Philippines. As of July 22, 21,858 prisoners from 470 jail facilities managed by the country's Bureau of Jail Management and Penology has been released. At least a thousand prisoners and jail staff have contracted COVID-19.[45]

President Muse Bihi Abdi pardoned 574 prisoners and ordered them released to control the spread of the virus.[46]

ISIL militants in the Hassakeh province in eastern Syria rioted, and four escaped from prison. While there are no reports of coronavirus infections in prisons in this area, there are concerns about a possible outbreak in overcrowded facilities.[47]

A riot started at the prison in the Buriram Province in northeastern Thailand on March 29 when a false rumor about a coronavirus infection spread as a cover-up for an escape attempt. Seven of the 2,100 prisoners escaped but were recaptured. Two prisoners at a different facility in the country have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and families have been banned from visiting prisons in the country for 14 days.[48]

On March 13, Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül announced that meetings in all open and closed prisons, the use of family meeting rooms, and transfers between prisons were all delayed for two weeks.[49]

On March 20, the Human Rights Association, Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, the Association of Lawyers for Liberty, the Contemporary Lawyers Association, and the Health and Social Service Workers Union of Civil Society in the Penal System, published a statement on the COVID-19 outbreak and urged immediate action in prisons. In their article, they emphasized the importance of informing the public, especially family and prisoners' lawyers, about quarantine practices and the health status of prisoners.[50]

The Turkish parliament passed a law to free tens of thousands of prisoners on April 14. Human rights organizations criticized the law because it did not include individuals convicted under anti-terrorism laws, journalists, politicians, and lawyers in pre-trial detention.[51]

The government released specific guidance to prisons in the event of COVID-19 symptoms or cases, specifically the rule that states "any prisoner or detainee with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature should be placed in protective isolation for 7 days".[52]

On March 18, the first coronavirus case was reported in a UK prison. The prisoner, who had been serving time in HMP Manchester (commonly referred to as Strangeways), was moved to a hospital. While no other prisoners or staff tested positive for the virus, thirteen prisoners and four members of staff were put into isolation as a precaution.[53] Prison visits remained open, but the situation is being monitored.[54]

On March 19, it was revealed that around 75 officers at HMP Berwyn in Wales were off work due to sickness or self-isolation, and 22 prisoners showing symptoms of coronavirus were being isolated by the prison. However, the prison had enough staff members to remain fully operational.[55]

Following the case in HMP Manchester, public services think tank Reform called for the release of 2,305 "low-risk" offenders on short sentences to reduce the risk of coronavirus within the prison population.[56] Their report argued that prison are "overcrowded [with] insanitary conditions and poor-quality healthcare".[57] Similar actions have been taken in Iran and the United States.[58]

On March 21, former Justice Secretary David Gauke called for the suspension of short sentences and early release of some prisoners to avoid the spread of COVID-19.[59]

During the first half of 2020, considering U.S. outbreaks affecting clusters of over 500 people, three-quarters of these large outbreaks occurred at correctional facilities. As of July 3, 2020, the hardest hit institution was Marion Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio with 2,439 cases, followed by Pickaway Correctional Institution in Scioto Township, Ohio (1,791 cases), San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California (1,483 cases), Harris County jail in Houston, Texas (1,390 cases), and Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, Tennessee (1,379 cases). These were the five worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in the United States up to that point.[60] At least 13 people incarcerated at Marion died of COVID-19.[61] As of late August 2021, over 2,500 people had died from COVID-19 while incarcerated in U.S. prisons; statistics on COVID-19 deaths are generally unavailable for U.S. jails.[62]

April 24, 2020: Protest event in Columbus, Ohio calling for 20,000 early prison releases

On any given day, 2.3 million people are incarcerated in 6,000 facilities in the United States, presenting officials with the difficult task of preventing coronavirus outbreaks among prisoners and staff.[63][64] Prisoners often sleep close together. Many prisons have poor sanitation, and alcohol-based hand sanitizer is often prohibited for inmates.[65][66]

The vast majority of these prisoners are in state or local custody. State governors usually have the power to choose to release prisoners, but generally they do not do so, a trend that has not changed even given the COVID-19 crisis. For example, in response to the pandemic, California and Kentucky released less than four percent of their prisoners, while Arizona stated that it would release none.[63]

The remaining minority of prisoners are in federal custody.

Between March 22–26, 2020, 23 inmates escaped and at least one inmate tested positive for COVID-19 in each of two prisons. Judges ordered the liberation of thousands of prison inmates, and there were calls to release all medically vulnerable inmates.[67]

As of April 8, 2020, there were at least 1,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 32 deaths in prisons and jails across the United States.[68]

On December 18, 2020, the Associated Press and The Marshall Project stated that one in five prisoners in the United States had been infected with the COVID virus. This was over four times the infection rate of the general population around the time of the report. In some states, half of prisoners had been infected.[69]

COVID-19 has also spread at an elevated rate within immigration detention facilities in the United States.

Ohio

Further information: COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio

Protester at an April 24 event with a sign referencing the Marion County prison

On April 8, the National Guard arrived at Elkton Federal Prison in Columbiana County to assist the medical staff when a large number of prisoners became ill with the virus.[116] On April 18, the National Guard and Highway Patrol arrived at the state prison in Marion county to assist with "mission critical functions" after infections of correctional workers and prisoners.[117] By April 19, over 1800 prisoners at Marion Correctional Institution, approximately 3/4ths of the population, plus 100 staff had tested positive.[118] Overall, the prison system had almost 2500 cases by April 19, representing almost a fifth of Ohio's cases.[118]

On April 22, the Marion County prison was first-ranked as the hot-spot for the virus in the country, followed by the Pickaway Correctional Institution. Marion County was first in cases per capita in the nation, while Pickaway County was fourth.[119] The Ohio prison system is designed to hold about 35,000 inmates, but held about 49,000 in April 2020.[120]

On April 22, federal judge James S. Gwin ordered the Elkton prison to identify vulnerable inmates and transfer them from the facility. He also ordered officials to "evaluate each subclass member's eligibility for transfer out of Elkton through any means, including but not limited to compassionate release, parole or community supervision, transfer furlough or non-transfer furlough within two weeks". He noted, "with the shockingly limited available testing and the inability to distance inmates, COVID-19 is going to continue to spread, not only among the inmate population, but also among the staff". He condemned the Federal Department of Corrections, asking: "Why has the Justice Department allocated Elkton an entirely insignificant number of tests while Ohio has been able to pull off mass testing across not only Marion, but at multiple institutions?"[121]

Reuters reported that Venezuela's notoriously overcrowded and unsanitary prisons could spread the coronavirus "like a fast-moving fire." Venezuelan prisons frequently lack bathrooms, people sleep on floors, and many inmates spend their days without shirts or shoes on, in part to combat the heat of windowless facilities.[126] This has caused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to demand the Maduro government release six Citgo executives, held in prison since 2017, on humanitarian grounds.[127][128] Pompeo said that all six men have weakened immune systems and "face a grave health risk if they become infected" with COVID-19.[128] The Venezuelan Medical Federation asked for the release of political prisoners in the country, specifically Roberto Marrero, Juan Requesens and other lawmakers.[129]

On March 18, 84 out of 518 inmates escaped from a prison in San Carlos, Zulia, after restrictions against the pandemic were announced, including jail visits. Mayor Bladimir Labrador declared that ten prisoners were killed during the prison break and that two policemen were detained for complicity. According to Carlos Nieto Palma from the NGO Ventana a la Libertad, the suspension of visits directly affects the prisoner's nutrition, given that there was no state-sponsored program to feed them.[130] The NGO Provea denounced "grave human rights violations" after a military spokesperson announced the "neutralization" of 35 escapees. State authorities later declared that there were eight deaths.[131]