Where widespread community transmission of COVID-19 is occurring, there are legitimate
concerns of this spreading to prisons. The outbreak of any communicable disease presents
particular risks for prisons due to the vulnerability of the prison population and not least
because of the difficulties in containing a large outbreak in such a setting. People detained are
vulnerable for several reasons, but especially due to the proximity of living (or working) so
closely to others – in many cases in overcrowded, cramped conditions with little fresh air.
People in detention also have common demographic characteristics with generally poorer
health than the rest of the population, often with underlying health conditions. Hygiene
standards are often below that found in the community and sometimes security or
infrastructural factors reduce opportunities to wash hands or access to hand sanitizer – as
explored below.
Any coronavirus outbreak in prisons should - in principle - not take prison management by
surprise, as contingency plans for the management of outbreaks of communicable diseases
should be in place. This is an essential part of the obligation of the state to ensure the health
care of people in prison required by international human rights law.
Table of contents
From a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ to a pandemic ............................... 3
COVID-19 in prisons: cases and responses ................................................................................ 3
Civil rights, right to health and preventing COVID-19 in prisons ................................................ 4
Right to health and hygiene ......................................................................................................... 4
Equivalence of care for people in prison .................................................................................. 5
Contact with the outside world ................................................................................................... 5
Any limitations on contact with the outside world should be proportionate, including by
being time limited and non-discriminatory .............................................................................. 6
Quarantine, isolation or limitation on movements within detention facilities............................ 7
Isolation or quarantine measures must be proportionate, authorised in law and not result in
de facto solitary confinement .................................................................................................. 8
Fair trials and the right to legal counsel ....................................................................................... 8
Protective measures should allow people to attend trials and receive legal counsel .............. 9
Detention monitoring and right to prohibition of torture and ill-treatment ............................... 9
States should guarantee access to prison for monitoring bodies............................................. 9
Health of prison staff ................................................................................................................. 10
Prison management must support prison staff in times of emergency ................................. 10
Emergency measures to reduce prison populations ................................................................ 10
Do no harm ................................................................................................................................ 10
Emergency releases ................................................................................................................... 10
States must put in place plans allowing for emergency releases ........................................... 12
Prison sentences for Coronavirus-related offences ................................................................. 12
Presumption of innocence and criminalisation as last resort................................................. 13
* All data included is sourced from the World Health Organization or is otherwise cited and is correct as of 16 March 2020.
** In this briefing note we use prisons and detention facilities interchangeably referring to any place where people are
deprived of their liberty under criminal justice measures or sanctions.
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