COVID-19 – Infection prevention in prisons and jails in Poland

Introduction and objective. Due to the specificity of conditions in penitentiary establishments, there is an increased risk of rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections. In addition, there is a high prevalence of non-communicable chronic diseases among inmates, which increases the risk of the severe course of COVID-19. The objectives of the study are to present the number and percentage of officers and employees of the Prison Service (PS), and inmates quarantined and infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the period from March to the end of December 2020, as well as to present solutions aimed at limiting the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus. Materials and method. Information on the number of PS officers, employees and inmates quarantined and infected, as well as information on the solutions introduced by the Prison Service Management Bard,was obtained from the Ministry of Justice pursuant to the provisions of the Act on Access to Public Information. Results. From1 March 2020 – 31 December 2020, the number of cases of infection detected among PS officers and employees was 3,666, and among inmates – 599. 97.7% of all cases among PS officers and employees and 93.8% among inmates were reported in the last 3 months of the year. Conclusions. The rapid introduction of solutions aimed at limiting the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and proper monitoring of the epidemic in penitentiary establishments resulted in a low number of infections in the period from March to the end of December 2020. Infections among PS officers and employees, as well as inmates, seem to be parallel to the epidemiological situation in the population of the entire country. Further analysis of the epidemic will confirm the impact of the measures taken on the incidence of COVID-19 among PS officers, employees and inmates