The government has released official guidelines as to how jails need to respond to prevent, and deal with, a potential coronavirus outbreak.
So far, only two cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in UK prisons – one at HMP Manchester, the other at HMP High Down in Surrey.
However with an estimated 2,500 inmates locked up in Liverpool’s prisons, The Ministry of Justice, in conjunction with Public Health England, has released guidelines to follow for inmates and those visiting.
Last week, the Prisoner’s Advice Association said conditions in England’s prisons had been compared to those found on “cruise ships” and asked the Government to “slow down” any potential crisis by suggesting prisoners who are “aged over 75” or “those over 50 convicted of non-violent/sex crimes” should be released alongside other recommendations.
The proximity of inmates and the general high turn-over of people coming in and out of HMP Liverpool and HMP Altcourse, in Walton and Fazakerley, means that prisons are a concern when it comes to the transmission of coronavirus.
The Ministry of Justice, in conjunction with Public Health England, has released guidelines for people visiting inmates, and also what needs to happen in the event of a prisoner contracting the virus.
In a statement published updated on March 18, the Ministry of Justice said: “Existing, well-developed procedures are in place to manage outbreaks of infectious diseases and prisons are prepared if cases are identified.
“Plans are in place for dealing with staff absences if staff working in prisons need to self-isolate”.
The guidelines also follow general Government guidelines telling people not to visit loved ones at the prison if they have “a high temperature” or a “new, continuous cough”.
Anybody showing symptoms, or who live with others with symptoms, “must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days”.
The Ministry of Justice has also provided guidance on how prisons should deal with an inmate suspected to have contracted coronavirus.
The guidelines state that any prisoner displaying symptoms should be “isolated in single occupancy accommodation” for seven days, adding if they are “clinically well enough to remain in prescribed places of detention [prisoners] do not need to be transferred to hospital”.
But, in the event of several inmates contracting coronavirus and not enough single occupancy accommodation is available then “cohorting” as a strategy “can be effective in the care of large numbers of people who are ill by gathering all those who are suspected confirmed cases into one area”.
Speaking earlier this month, a Prison Service spokesman told the ECHO: "We have put in place robust contingency plans in consultation with Public Health England and the Department of Health and Social Care.
“These use available evidence and prioritise the safety of staff, prisoners and visitors while making sure normal regimes experience the minimum possible disruption.
"As a result of this planning, prisons are well prepared to take immediate action wherever cases or suspected cases are identified, including the isolation of individuals where necessary.”
