Five cases of contamination with Covid-19 were recorded at the local prison of Ksar El Kebir, said the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation (DGAPR), adding that it involved four officials and one prisoner.
In the framework of preventive measures taken by the DGAPR to preserve the security of prisoners and penitentiary institutions in the face of the danger of the spread of the new Coronavirus and following the completion of the period of sanitary isolation of the first group of officials of the local prison of Ksar El Kebir who worked for two successive weeks, it was carried out last Saturday, in coordination with the local services of the territorial administration and the Ministry of Health, the medical control of officials both those who have joined their posts and those who are leaving the institution, the delegation said in a statement.
After the commission found that three female civil servants showed some symptoms, it was decided to keep the first group in service and to postpone the entry into service of the second group, the statement added, stating that the three above-mentioned civil servants were subjected to screening tests with positive results.
The services of the Ministry of Health and the provincial watch committee immediately began the testing procedures for the four inmates in the women’s unit, an independent part of the institution, as well as all the elements of the first group and the employees of the catering company, continued the same source, noting that the results were negative with the exception of two cases confirmed to be infected with the virus.
These two cases are that of a driver who has no direct contact with the inmates and a new inmate who joined the institution on 08 April, the statement said, noting that the contaminated cases, as well as an inmate who was in contact with the infected prisoner, were transferred to the hospital to be subjected to the protocol of care adopted by the competent services.
The DGAPR also stated that, as part of its concern to preserve the safety of inmates and staff and in order to control the situation, it has called upon its various central, regional and local services and has taken a series of urgent measures in coordination with the various competent authorities since the first cases of contamination appeared.
These include sterilization of all the prison’s outbuildings, reinforcement of preventive measures, including the distribution of a sufficient number of protective masks for civil servants, employees and inmates while insisting on the obligation to wear them, as well as control of traffic within the prison and raising awareness of the need to respect hygiene rules.
It was also decided to increase the level of control and medical vigilance within the local prison of Ksar El Kebir, the same source added, stating that in order to provide greater protection for prisoners and officials at this institution, the latter will be provided with protective suits, while officials in the second group will undergo the necessary medical examinations before they reach the institution.
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