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

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons and jails may affect both inmates and correctional workers. An observational study has been performed to investigate the efficacy of specific procedures and of a serial testing approach adopted for the COVID-19 prevention in an Italian correctional facility (Bari, Apulia) for inmates affected by chronic diseases.Methods: Two SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing campaigns were carried out for all the prisoners and correctional workers, including correctional officers (CO), administrative staff (AS), correctional health care workers (HCW), and operators working with people completing their sentence outside the prison (OOP). Antigen testing was conducted on nasopharyngeal swab specimens, using a fluorescence immunoassay for the qualitative detection of nucleocapsid SARS-CoV-2 antigen. All subjects positive to the antigen test underwent confirmation by rRT-PCR test.Results: In total, 426 new and residential inmates were tested during the first campaign and 480 during the second campaign. Only two new inmates resulted positive at the first campaign, while no positive cases were observed at the second campaign or outside of the testing campaigns. In total, 367 correctional workers were tested at the first campaign and 325 at the second. At the first, 4 CO and 2 HCW showed positive test results, while no new positive cases were observed at the second. Moreover, 1 CO and 1 HCW resulted positive outside of the testing campaigns for the onset of symptoms while at home.Conclusion: The implementation of a full risk management plan in a correctional facility, including both a strict protocol for the application of preventive measures and a serial testing approach, seems to be able to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in both inmates and correctional workers.

Effectiveness of rapid antigen testing for screening of asymptomatic individuals to limit the transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2: A rapid review

“…Of the 12 records identified via website and citation searching, 2 were excluded. At the end of this process, 19 reports in total were included in this review, 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 9 of which were identified via databases 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 41 and 10 via other methods. 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 34 , 36 , 38 , 42 , 43 , 44 These 19 included reports refer to 16 unique studies (Figure 1 ).…”

“…Of the 16 included studies, 8 examined the effectiveness of RADTs for population‐level screening, 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 40 , 42 4 for pre‐event screening (e.g., concerts and football matches), 26 , 29 , 34 , 39 and 4 for serial testing (schools, 43 a prison, 44 a university sports programme for athletes and staff, 35 and in care homes; Table 2 ; Supplementary material B ). 41 The eight population‐level screening studies referred to programmes that occurred in England (Liverpool), 31 , 32 , 42 Wales (Merthyr Tydfil and Lower Cynon Valley), 27 , 38 Slovakia (whole‐country) 30 , 33 , 37 and Italy (South Tyrol).…”

“…The four pre‐event screening studies, as well as the Italian population‐based screening programme, used once‐off rapid antigen testing 26 , 28 , 29 , 34 , 36 , 39 , 40 ; the prison testing programme conducted two whole‐of‐prison testing campaigns 30 days apart 44 ; the schools testing programme was undertaken every 14 days 43 ; for the Slovakian population‐level screening programme, four rounds of testing were undertaken with a gap of 1–2 weeks between each round 30 , 33 , 37 ; for the care home testing programme, staff were tested twice a week 41 ; while the intercollegiate sports programme involved daily rapid antigen testing of students and staff. 35 The English and the Welsh population‐based screening programmes allowed individuals to avail of repeated antigen testing over the course of the study.…”

Health Management in Italian Prisons during COVID-19 Outbreak: A Focus on the Second and Third Wave

“…New detainees were obliged to wash and disinfect their hands and wear a certified medical mask prior to entry, and a new pre-triage filter area system was introduced for prisoners who had access to the outside [ 7 ].…”

“…Many measures and strategies were also specifically thought of for prisons and considered the close link between the community, prisoners, and prison employees. Few recent studies have analyzed the impact of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 in the jails of several Regions of the Country and focused on the adopted measures, including the commutation of the sentences to home detention and the implementation of strict hygiene and case-management protocols [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”