Letter from Prison: ‘If Virus Enters the Ward, We will Get Infected in an Hour or So’
* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
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"Considering that 20 people stay in 10-person wards, there is one person per two square meter and four people lie on the floor, I think it will take only an hour or so till the virus gets us all infected."
Sending a letter from Bolu Type T Prison through a relative, a prisoner has expressed their concerns that they can be infected with COVID-19 behind bars due to the overcrowding in prisons.
The inmate finds it as a reasonable decision to postpone contact and non-contact visitations and writes us the following:
"The prison administration and the Ministry of Justice are doing their best to take all precautions. However, it is really difficult to combat a virus that can be transmitted through air or through any surface.
"Maybe the personnel have been infected'
"6-7 wardens come to the ward twice a day for counting and 8-10 officials or gendarmerie officers enter the ward twice a month for search.
"I don't know it for sure, but I assume that the body temperatures of the personnel are taken before they start their shifts and it is checked whether they show other symptoms or not.
"However, it shouldn't be forgotten that the personnel naturally go to their homes at the end of their shifts, they get on the service vehicle, go to the bazaar and market, they come closer to people in one way or another. It will not be diagnosed if they contracted the virus as a result until they show the symptoms. Maybe, one or some of them have been infected and transmitted it to their colleagues, maybe, they will do it tomorrow.
"When the employees in charge come to the ward, give food, products from the canteen or documents as part of their duty, they can bring the virus to the ward. Considering that 20 people stay in 10-person wards, there is one person per two square meter and four people lie on the floor, I think it will take only an hour or so till the virus gets us all infected.
'How strong can our immune systems be?'
"In these days when there is a consensus on social isolation, the overcrowding is extremely worrying us and our families. This overcrowding needs to be reduced before we are infected with the virus. The risk is getting more and more serious with each passing day and we can face irrecoverable consequences in a matter of days.
"While the regulation on criminal execution was constantly brought up in the agenda without doing the necessary for years, we are going through the days when this regulation is needed the most. In an environment where we cannot even benefit from the day light and we are constantly under stress, how strong can our immune systems be should be kept in mind..."
Latest precautions in prisons
Making a statement yesterday (March 30), Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül said, "There are no arrestees or convicts who have tested positive for coronavirus in prison", without sharing information about prison personnel.
It has also been announced that as part of COVID-19 precautions taken in prisons, prison personnel will not be sent home after their shifts, but will stay in isolated places. Minister Gül has indicated that they are negotiating with local administrators to accommodate the personnel in social facilities such as dormitories, guest houses and training centers. (AS/SD)