Coronavirus in prisons: Six prisoners died, 72 active cases found

Photo: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Six prisoners died of Covid-19 and there are 72 active cases in Turkey's prisons, the Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses has announced.

All of the deceased had chronic diseases such as diabetes and COPD and three were infected at the hospital during their treatments, it stated in a report on its website.

So far, 374 prisoners have recovered from Covid-19, according to the report.

Among the active cases, all are in good condition with none of them needing intensive care. Thirty-eight of those cases were found after PCR tests before they were sent to prison and those patients were directly referred to a health institution, the report noted.

Precautions in prisons

As part of the preventive measures, all vehicles, common areas and visitors' places are being disinfected and prisoners were provided with adequate cleaning and hygiene supplies, according to the report.

Prisoners are also provided with free gloves and masks to use outside their rooms or wards the report said.

Thermal cameras were set up in crowded prisons and body temperatures of everyone, including correctional officers, are being measured before the entrance.

Covid leaves

A total of 64,661 convicts have been put on a "Covid-19 leave" in accordance with Law No. 7242 and temporary Article 9 of Law No. 5275.

30,358 convicts from open prisons and 12,378 from closed prisons have been released on supervision.

4,246 convicts from open prisons and 2,588 from closed prisons have been released on probation. (TP/VK)