Security ministry to meet again with Public Defender on COVID-19 safety measures at prisons

 

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security Matthew Samuda has said another meeting is to be held with the Public Defender to continue discussions on COVID-19 safety measures at correctional facilities.

 

The first meeting was held last week.

 

Positive cases among staff and inmates have been found at seven of the eleven facilities.

 

Mr. Samuda told Radio Jamaica News that the ministry thought it important to invite an independent entity to review the measures.

 

"I think it was a fruitful discussion. The suggestions were put on the table from both sides and I think updates will be provided at the very next meeting," Mr. Samuda said, adding that the ministry has been "trying to adhere to standards from the UN and from CDC and WHO that have listed all sorts of recommendations for correctional centres globally." 

 

In keeping with these recommendations, he said the ministry has "put in place the investments and the systems necessary, and that is why it took six months from COVID being in Jamaica for COVID to actually get into any of our facilities."  

 

According to the minister, the measures will be tweaked where necessary to prevent the spread of the viral illness in prison facilities. 

 

"Obviously, we want to ensure that we put in more sterlisation stations, that we ensure that there is monitoring, that people are wearing the masks that we have distributed, 'cause distributing them is one thing but getting human behaviour to change is sometimes difficult. So that's a major step that we need to kinda step up on to ensure that people actually use what has been given to them," he asserted.