Campania Guarantor: Increase in COVID cases among inmates and officers: 198 inmates infected, two hospitalized, and 111 officers infected.
"Today we visited Poggioreale Prison. We noted that in common areas, such as the family-prisoner meeting room and the waiting room, the vast majority of inmates and their families are not using personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and hand sanitizer, during meetings, and the necessary physical distancing is not being ensured. Out of a prison population of 2.192 inmates, 56 inmates and 21 officers have been infected to date. We met with the prison director, the commander and deputy commander, the head of prison health care, and the head of the Naples 1 local health authority. We were also disappointed to note that family members and lawyers are able to enter the prison without the need or obligation to show a valid green pass or a swab test certifying their negative status for COVID-19.
Thus Samuele Ciambriello, guarantor of prisoners in Campania, and Pietro Ioia, Neapolitan guarantors, upon leaving Poggioreale prison.
"The ASL - the two guarantors continue - concretely launch a vaccination campaign for second and third doses and an awareness campaign for those who have not yet received even the first dose. We have received the permission of the prison chaplain, Father Franco Esposito, to set up an internal hub in the prison chapel. This would allow for rapid and effective progress. We also hope that the Government and Parliament will amend the law, which currently does not require vaccination for family members visiting prisoners and for their lawyers. Furthermore, we want to remind prisoners that they are the architects of their own right to health by vaccinating them.
The guarantors let it be known that "In total, there are currently 198 infected inmates in Campania, two hospitalized, and 111 infected officers." and also communicate "that last night in the Poggioreale prison a foreign inmate from the Salerno wing died from causes yet to be ascertained. Change the prison - conclude Ciambriello and Ioia - Above all, it means initiating a cultural process that leads to the guarantee of rights and certainty of punishment, making prison facilities a transparent space. We also hope that, to combat and overcome prison overcrowding, the current custodial and punitive approach will be revisited, laying the foundations for the recognition of alternatives to prison. Our final hope, finally, is that all the healthy forces that can and must pass through this "closed place" will be mobilized, considering it, why not, a resource available to the community.
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