In response to the outbreak of the new coronavirus in prisons in Yokohama and Chiba, an NPO made up of lawyers requested the Ministry of Justice to promptly perform PCR tests on all inmates.
Inmates and staff have been infected one after another at Yokohama Prison, and over 130 people have been confirmed to be infected so far, and 90 people have been confirmed to be infected at Chiba Prison.
In response to this, the NPO Prison Human Rights Center, which is engaged in activities to protect the human rights of prisoners, issued a statement to the Ministry of Justice and held a press conference in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo on the 8th.
According to the statement, inmates and staff are placed in a closed environment in prisons and other facilities, and the risk of infection is high. In the event of an infection, all inmates are promptly subjected to PCR tests and infected. We are asking you to prevent it from expanding.
According to the Ministry of Justice, a total of 324 people have been infected in prisons and detention centers nationwide by the 7th.
Yuichi Kaido, the representative of the NPO, said, "In some cases, if measures were taken earlier, the spread of the infection could be prevented. I would like the Ministry of Justice to take appropriate measures."