BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - PRISON officials are leaving no stone unturned in preventing an outbreak of the Corpnavirus in the two major penitentiaries of the Federation, as they are now stepping up preventative measures.
As of last Thursday (May 20), Superintendent of Her Majesty’s Prison, Terrence James ordered the facility in Basseterre closed to the public, so that there would be no interaction with individuals on the outside other than staff members so as to minimise the risk of internal spread of the virus.
In an invited comment on the preventative measures, James described the prison as one of the vulnerable institutions, adding that all measures must be taken to ensure there is no outbreak.
He reminded that since last year a number of measures, including temperature checks and testing, were implemented and they are still in place, as the outbreak continues to spread in the communities locally.
Currently, talks are ongoing amongst the Chief Medical Officer, prison officials and the COVID-19 Task Force to ensure that the best measures could be implemented to mitigate against any fallout in the prison.
“I am in discussion with the CMO to get advice on if testing of inmates is possible at this time,” added James.
Last year, there were discussions about the possible early release of prisoners in St. Kitts and Nevis and the wider Caribbean to lighten the population, but that was not done.
James told SKNVibes that the option has not been removed, adding that “we are not ruling out that at this time, but I can’t tell you definitely that that will be done”.
Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Prisons was asked to address the rumour of a prison officer had tested positive and brought the virus into the facility, to which he noted that an individual was indeed placed in quarantine and has since tested negative.
