Korea imposes highest-tier social distancing rules on prison facilities
A man receives a coronavirus test at a makeshift testing center near the Yeoju Correctional Facility in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap
South Korea on Thursday imposed the highest-tier social distancing measures on prison facilities nationwide, banning visits and canceling all work and classes to break the trend of mass coronavirus infections among inmates.
The Level 3 restrictions will be in force for two weeks until Jan. 13 and aim to minimize contact between and among inmates, outside visitors and the prison staff. Meetings with lawyers will be restricted and all staff will work on a reduced schedule.
The announcement follows an alarming increase in coronavirus cases tied to the Dongbu Detention Center in southeastern Seoul. As of midnight Wednesday, a total of 807 cases were tied to the facility, most of them current and former inmates. Two prisoners -- one from the Dongbu Detention Center and the other from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital -- have died of COVID-19 complications.
"The justice ministry tried to prevent the spread of COVID-19 inside correctional facilities, which are vulnerable to infection, but this situation arose from the limitations that are inherent to detention facilities and our failure to take antivirus steps in advance," Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu said during a press briefing at the main government complex in Seoul.
"We are sorry to the nation ... The justice ministry will strengthen antivirus measures and inspections at correctional facilities to ensure no further infections, and do everything we can to stabilize the situation," Lee said.
The ministry has been looking at ways to transfer more inmates from the Dongbu Detention Center to ease the population density there. The center is currently above capacity at 116.6 percent.
Hundreds of prisoners, including those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have already been transferred to prison facilities nationwide.
The ministry is also considering releasing more inmates on parole, especially if they have an underlying disease or have demonstrated exemplary behavior.
To prevent further infections from asymptomatic patients, the ministry will conduct mass testing on all prison staff and inmates and set up more residential treatment centers within the prison compounds and in the surrounding neighborhoods to treat mild cases.
The ministry blamed the mass infections at Dongbu Detention Center on its layout and poor ventilation system, high population density and failure to anticipate the spread of the virus through asymptomatic patients.
The detention centers have added to South Korea's woes in combating the virus.
The country has reported around 1,000 new coronavirus cases a day since the middle of the month.
The capital area comprising Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province is currently under Level 2.5 restrictions, while the rest of the nation is mostly under Level 2. (Yonhap)