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Interim stay in prison camps for new inmates to protect jail population
The Prisons Department, in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19, is housing new arrivals in prison camps for a period before letting them into jails.
Prisons Commissioner-General Jayasiri Tennakoon said new remand prisoners were being sent to the Boosa and Pallensena prison camps where they would be kept for 21 days.
“We are taking all precautions to prevent an outbreak in our prisons,” he said.
Mr. Tennakoon said a section of the Bogambara Prison complex in Kandy, currently used as a cultural centre, is being reorganised. The area will be ready on Wednesday to accommodate around 500 inmates.
The Boosa camp has a capacity of 700.
With the facilities envisaged in total, 1,700 new prisoners can be kept in quarantine before being allowed into the normal prison structure. “After the quarantine period they will be moved out,” Mr. Tennakoon said.
The department has requested the COVID-19 Taskforce to give it a quarantine facility in Batticaloa.
There have been no reports of a coronavirus breakout in the jail population.
The Commissioner-General said his department would not take in curfew violators. “We had discussions with the Attorney-General and the police to have them under judicial custody and be let out on bail,” he said.
The department last month sent home 2,961 prisoners who were in remand for minor offences, in order to space out prisoners in cells.
“Previously, we used to have 300-400 persons in our cell wards but we now have less than fewer than 20,” Mr. Tennakoon said. Each ward had been built to accommodate 150 prisoners.
Cells are generally overcrowded and hold nearly three times their proper capacity. There are about 26,000 prisoners countrywide accommodated in premises that should contain 10,000 inmates.
The department has stopped families from visiting jails in order to prevent visitors infecting prisoners, and this led to fights breaking out at Anuradhapura Prison on March 22 in which two inmates were killed and six wounded.
“We don’t allow visitors and we educated prisoners on the importance of wearing masks and keeping their hands and face clean. Everyone is provided with sanitisers,” Mr. Tennakoon said. Prisons officials ae also provided with masks and sanitisers.
All prison staff are expected to work despite the COVID-19 threat as the department comes under “essential services”.