Khaled Al-Masry - Cairo
The Egyptian Prison Authority has monitored the first case of the new Corona virus in Wadi el-Natroun prison, north of the capital, Cairo, while the security services refuse to reveal the prisoner's name, identity, or the case held in it.
Al-Jazeera Net learned the details of the incident, where the prisoner experienced a sudden rise in temperature with a severe cough, which raised doubts about his infection with the Corona virus, so he was transferred by ambulance to the health unit in Wadi al-Natrun, but due to the weak capabilities of the local unit he was transferred to a government hospital north Giza Governorate, which is 45 minutes away from the prison.
The sources pointed out that the prisoner arrived in the hospital with civilian clothes, not the prison clothes, under heavy guard, adding that the hospital administration completely vacated the first floor, and after conducting the tests it was confirmed that the prisoner was infected with Corona virus, and immediately he was transferred to the fever hospital in Imbaba, Giza Governorate.
The prisoner is now subject to a period of quarantine amid tight security, as the state of emergency was lifted there, and hospital administration orders were issued not to reveal the presence of a prisoner who was infected with Coronavirus.
The release of the detainees is a humanitarian and necessary demand before the disaster struck |
With the increasing spread of the Corona virus in the world, activists and human rights activists launched a campaign in the name of "escaping the prisoners", in which they demanded the Egyptian authorities to release the detainees due to their fear of contracting the Corona virus and the spread of disease in prisons, which will affect guards, and not only prisoners.
The campaign called for the need to release the detainees, especially the elderly, while taking the necessary measures such as applying the law of pre-trial detention with precautionary measures, and freeing the path with a travel ban.
Tweeters suggested that the prisoners be released on remand, those who have completed pre-trial detention and those who have spent half the time, as well as the sick and the elderly.
They also called for urgent basic measures to open the wards, remove the prisoners from exercise, increase their exposure to the sun, allow medication from outside the prison, and reduce congestion inside the cells, in addition to increasing medical attention to the elderly and the sick.
On March 3, Egyptian human rights organizations called on the authorities to the necessity of the immediate and speedy release of detainees in Egyptian prisons for fear of the spread of Corona virus among prisoners.
In a joint statement entitled "Save them", the organizations called on the Egyptian authorities to pay attention to the accumulation in prisons, as well as the lack of ventilation, and the low level of hygiene, with many chronic conditions, stressing that all of these matters may lead to a humanitarian disaster that is difficult to correct in light of these Standards If only one case of this virus appears in prisons and police stations.
The signatory organizations are: Adalah Human Rights Foundation, Al-Shehab Center for Human Rights, Peace International for Human Rights Protection and Human Rights Monitor.
The organizations participating in the campaign announced their intention to send a set of official letters to urge the Egyptian government to release the prisoners, to be directed to the Public Prosecutor, the Supreme Judicial Council, the Presidency of the Republic, the National Council for Human Rights, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, and the Committee International Red Cross, European Union, European Parliament, as well as the Union and the African Commission.
The campaign called on the families of the prisoners to send telegrams to the Attorney General, which was responded to by many families of the prisoners.
In an article on Britain's Middle East Eye website, Human Rights Watch researcher Omar Magdi said that the Corona virus epidemic is another reminder that the Egyptian government should long ago have opened prisons for inspection by independent local and international organizations instead of the comic visits arranged by the government and appearing Prisoners enjoying barbecue meat.
Injury and quarantine
The Egyptian Ministry of Health announced yesterday, Monday, that the number of deaths rose to 4 and recorded 40 new injuries, bringing the total number to 166, and the ministry announced the placing of 300 families under quarantine in a village in Dakahlia Governorate after the death of a woman with Corona virus.
In turn, Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly announced the suspension of air traffic at Egyptian airports as a precautionary measure against the background of the Corona outbreak, from 19 to 31 March, with the aim of reducing the possibility of the virus spreading.