Human Rights Watch reported, on Monday, that at least 14 deaths were recorded in Egyptian prisons due to the Corona virus, amid minimal precautionary measures and the prevention of obtaining or allowing the wearing of masks.
The organization emphasized that the authorities inside the prisons made very little effort to isolate patients who show symptoms of infection, and in particular prisons allocated a cell or two to isolate the infected, and did not provide any protection for the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases according to messages leaked from two prisons.
The organization revealed that inmates in prisons often accumulate in overcrowded, unclean cells, where they do not have access to water directly from networks and adequate ventilation or health care, all of which lead to the rapid transmission of infection.
The organization condemned the lack of medical care and the lack of provision of “Corona tests” in Egyptian prisons, and called for “adequate medical care” for prisoners and “speeding up (the pace of) release”.
It is reported that last February, Human Rights Watch confirmed the release of 13,000 prisoners by the Egyptian authorities, but that, according to the organization, is not sufficient to solve the problem of prison overcrowding.
