Prison Service making arrangements for quarantine facility

In light of the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, the Guyana Prison Services (GPS) is taking precautions in the event that the life-threatening disease reaches the penitentiary facilities and is now making arrangements to set up a quarantine facility for inmates.

According to the Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, a request has been made to the Public Health Ministry to establish the facility that will house some 250 prisoners. However, he noted that he is still awaiting a response from the Ministry.
Samuels told Guyana Times that the facility will help to combat the spread of the virus if there is to be an outbreak in any of the five prisons across the country.
He noted, however, that there are currently no confirmed or suspicious cases of COVID-19 in the prisons but these steps are still being taken as a precaution.
“We have no cases in the prison, this is precautionary measures being taken… If, for some reason, someone [in the prisons] should test positive, we will [have] an area where they can be isolated. There will be a need for them to be extracted from the prison facility that currently exists because we are aware of how persons may react if someone in the same facility, while they may be in a different section, is infected with the virus. That has the potential to spark unnecessary issues… So, this is just being on the safe side,” the Prison Director explained to Guyana Times.
He further confirmed that the facility will be at an area outside of the current prisons’ locations.
Asked about social distancing being practiced among inmates within the prison system, which has traditionally been plagued with overcrowding, Samuels pointed out that this is posing as a great challenge since the prison is currently overpopulated.
“We have been practicing many activities of the guidelines that were given as possible, but in an overcrowded prison, social distancing is something you can’t strictly adhere to. But wherever possible, it is being practised,” he added.
The COVID-19 emergency measures enforced by the Public Health Ministry on April 3 to curb the spread of the deadly virus, states that “No person shall visit or be permitted to visit… a prison or correctional facility…”
In light of this suspension of visits, the Prison Service on Wednesday announced the introduction of video calls for inmates to communicate with family members and attorneys-at-law during this period.
The Prison Director explained in a press statement that calls will be made via the Google Hangout application through the means of a cellular phone, iPad, tablet or a computer with a camera and a microphone powered by an internet connection.
He noted that the application will allow the prisoners’ relatives and attorneys to send a request to the email address of the location where the prisoner is housed, which would then allow the officer assigned to oversee phone calls to process the request.
When asked about how this initiative is going, Samuels told Guyana Times on Saturday that “so far, we are having no problems.”
To aid in this initiative by the Prison Service, the Ministry of Public Telecommunications (MoPT) earlier this week donated 30 tablets to the agency.