COVID-19 Risk Management and Screening in the Penitentiary Facilities of the Salerno Province in Southern Italy

Abstract

(1) Background: The emergency linked to the spread of COVID-19 in Italy has led to inevitable consequences on the penitentiary system. The risks of this emergency in prisons is mainly related to the problem of persistent overcrowding that makes social distancing difficult and the isolation of any contagion hard to arrange. The Department of Protection for Adults and Minors of the ASL Salerno Criminal Area has taken steps in order to perform screening operations and minimize the risks for prisoners and operators. (2) Methods: We conducted a two-phase observational study. In the first phase, we offered and then executed serum COVID-19 screening to all the convicted inmates. For those who had a doubtful or positive result, a swab was executed in the shortest time possible. In the second phase, a pharyngeal swab was offered and executed to all the police officers, the penitentiary administrative staff and the medical personnel working in the prison. (3) Results: In the first phase, we executed 485 COVID-19 blood tests on prisoners, 3 (0.61%) of which were positive. The three positive inmates underwent nasopharyngeal swabbing, which ultimately were negative. After that, we executed 276 nasopharyngeal swabs on the prison personnel, penitentiary administrative staff and medical personnel—all were negative. (4) Conclusion: All tests (blood tests and swabs) that were carried out on the prisoners and on the staff were negative for COVID-19. We believe that all prisons in Italy and in the world should take action to ensure preventive and control measures in order to safeguard the health of the prison population and of all the people who work there.

Efficacy of the Measures Adopted to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreaks in an Italian Correctional Facility for Inmates Affected by Chronic Diseases

“…Recent evidence supports a faster viral spread of COVID-19 in Brazilian prisons than in the general population, suggesting the important role of transmission from pre-symptomatic cases inside the prison complex ( 21 ). Some scientific reports, however, seem to agree our results, showing that the introduction of specific strategies to minimize COVID-19 transmission can achieve a low number of cases in correctional and detention facilities, even in geographic areas characterized by a wide spread of the epidemic in the general population ( 2 , 22 , 23 ). Our findings, therefore, seems to implicate that COVID-19 management within correctional and detention facilities is possible, leaving the incompatibility with the prison regime only to a few specific cases of inmates.…”

Does In-Person Visiting Affect the Number of COVID-19 Cases in Prisons?

“…They also share bathrooms and living spaces, as well as personal hygiene items [14]. Hence, prisoners are probably more vulnerable to COVID-19 than the general population due to the confined environment in which they live, which can act as a source of infection and amplify the spread of infectious diseases [20].…”

“…Our results reinforce the importance of sanitary measures to control the entrance and transmission of COVID-19 into the penitentiary system. In fact, the effectiveness of the protocol established by the WHO regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the procedures for preventing its spread in the prison environment [12] was shown in a study conducted in the penitentiary facilities in the province of Salerno, Italy, where serological and nasopharyngeal swab screening executed on inmates and personnel working in prisons showed no positive results for COVID-19 [20].…”

‘Lockdown's changed everything’: Mothering adult children in prison in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Globally, prisons witnessed consistently higher COVID-19 infection and death rates than within the general population (Pagano et al, 2020; Vest et al, 2021). Those in prison are disproportionately from economically marginalised communities, and therefore more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 (Lemasters et al, 2020).…”