With the onset of the third wave of Covid, the Department of Prisons has taken steps to suspend inmates from visiting Sri Lankan prisons for two weeks.
Meanwhile, as of last 27th alone, the media had reported that there were 260 covid infected in prisons.
Also, a protest was held at the Angunakolapelessa Prison on the 2nd. He said that the covid infected people were being brought to the Angunakolapelessa prison and asked them to undergo PCR tests.
Accordingly, the Ambalantota Medical Officer of Health had conducted antigen tests on 26 inmates of the Angunakolapelessa Prison and identified 18 of them as Kovid infected.
Antigen tests conducted on 56 inmates at the Angunakolapelessa Prison yesterday (03) have identified 39 more infected persons. Accordingly, another 57 inmates of the Angunakolapelessa Prison have been identified as covid infected. One of the inmates had died of covid infection on the first day.
Prison sources say that there are 08 wards in the Angunakolapelessa prison and only 05 wards have Kovid infected and the other 03 wards have no problem. The prison holds thousands of inmates.
It is also said that the prison cell of former parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake is safe.
These covid infected prisoners have been sent to Welikada Prison to be referred to treatment centers.
However, the spread of this virus in prisons is rapid. They have no gap of 02 meters. They eat and spend time together. Covid has to use the same toilet with infected people. Bathing is in the same place. It is reasonable for them to have a fear of disease.
At the end of November 2020, a riot broke out at the Mahara Prison, injuring 200 inmates and killing 11 others.
Although a prison inmate, they also have basic human rights. No one has the right to violate them. The loss of those basic human rights led to the Mahara Uprising. No such incident should happen again.
Mr. Sudesh Nandimal, Secretary of the Committee for the Protection of Prisoners’ Rights, told the court that Kovid was currently lodged in the Angunakolapelessa Prison and that there were many problems within the prison and that steps were being taken to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.