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Iran-HRM – The coronavirus has spread in Karaj Central Prison and a large number of prisoners have been infected, according to informed sources.
Covid-19 cases have been reported in the hall 1 of the prison, which is a quarantine and a place for newly arrived prisoners. At least 35 prisoners with acute Covid-19 have been taken to hospital over the past week.
The effects and symptoms of the disease are very severe among prisoners, one source said.
In wards 6 and 7, prisoners suffer from symptoms of fever and chills, pain in different parts of the body, muscle contraction, shortness of breath and in some cases diarrhea and vomiting.
There is no sufficient medical care for sick prisoners and those who refer to the prison infirmary are sent back to the wards without receiving necessary treatment or being quarantined.
Although the prisoners asked for Covid-19 testing and isolation of the sick prisoners, no measures have been taken and the patients are checked only for high temperature.
Iran has suffered one of the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world.
The high infection rates have hit prisons in the country where inmates live in close spaces, unable to maintain distance while sharing bathrooms and sometimes sleeping in rows of bunkbeds.
Prisoners who have long complained of unsanitary conditions and inadequate healthcare say the authorities have failed to contain the spread of Covid-19 transmission and ignored their medical needs and requests.
In a statement released in October 2020, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the Iranian prison system’s chronic overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions have worsened during the pandemic.
Shortages of water, hygiene products and disinfectant, insufficient protective equipment and testing kits as well as a lack of isolation spaces and inadequate medical care have led to the spread of the virus among detainees, reportedly resulting in a number of deaths, Bachelet wrote.
