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FrancoAngeli Journals

Saggi, Studi e Ricerche

No. 55 (2020)

Prison health is a public health: Management of Sars-CoV-2 outbreak in an Italian prison

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/mis55-2020oa12160
Submitted
luglio 2, 2021
Published
2021-07-08

Abstract

The Covid-19 emergency in prisons is a public health warming due to overcrowding, poor structural conditions,
and life promiscuities.
Worldwide a lot of prisoners were Sars-CoV-2 positive and in Italy several outbreaks occurred in many prisons.
This paper examines, using a clinical audit, a Covid-19 outbreak occurred in an Italian prison during the spring
2021.
The study showed that the best measures to mitigate the outbreak negative consequences both in prisoners and
in the staff are the preventive actions, the hygiene and disinfection of the common detention areas; the reduction
of overcrowding; the stop of the working activities during the quarantine period.
Only an improvement of living conditions inside the prisons may reduce the risk of infection among inmates.

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