新斯科舍省惩教所北翼的监狱牢房。照片：哈利法克斯审查员
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伯恩赛德监狱的31名囚犯测试了Covid-19的阳性。
省级司法部在周五的新闻稿中宣布了新斯科舍省惩教所爆发。它说没有人住院，没有任何案件在监狱的女性单位中。政府说，“几名员工”还测试了阳性。
其他省级设施没有确认的案件。
“Measures are in place to minimize the spread of the virus, including distribution of medical masks, restrictions on movement through the facility, increased cleaning and disinfecting. The situation is being monitored closely and assessed daily,” the government said in the release.
爆发是在本周早些时候在新斯科舍省的两个联邦监狱之一中报道的。
加拿大惩教服务在新闻发布on Tuesday that there’s a COVID-19 outbreak at Nova Institute for Women in Truro. On Tuesday, there were eight positive cases. The most recent numbers,在线发布and last updated Wednesday, indicated 19 active cases with the first cases reported on Dec. 25. In an email on Friday, Correctional Service Canada spokesperson Mylène Arseneau said 25 staff have tested positive.
Women’s Wellness Within chair Martha Paynter星期三打电话为了使联邦政府解决这种情况，并“尽快为尽可能多的囚犯释放。”
At the only other federal facility in Nova Scotia, Springhill Institution, the government was reporting zero active cases as of Wednesday.
In the provincial jail system, where most prisoners are awaiting trial, that kind of disclosure isn’t routine. It’s unclear from the news release on Friday when the cases were first identified.
On Dec. 21, East Coast Prison Justice Society wrote a letter to public health officials and the provincial Department of Justice calling for the government to释放囚犯以降低造成的风险，如前所述。
“迄今为止，Omicron变体是Covid-19病毒中最具传染性的菌株。因此，我们认为，只有足够的防御能力辩护，以防止Covid-19在我们的监狱中的传播以及随之而来的可预防的死亡，这是战略性的脱勺，也就是说，确保在设施中被囚禁和囚犯的人数尽可能低，与公共安全一致。
To decarcerate, the Society urged the province to set up temporary or conditional absences for sentenced prisoners and expedited bail hearings for those awaiting trial. It also called for increased funding for non-profits, including the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia, the Coverdale Courtwork Society, and the John Howard Society, to house people on bail.
Having received no response, Wildeman followed up with the department on Monday. On Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Justice Candace Thomas replied with a letter on behalf of Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang and Justice Minister Brad Johns.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been and continues to be difficult for Nova Scotians. Despite taking every precaution, positive cases of the virus have been identified in the inmate population and corrections employees,” Thomas wrote.
“As we have seen elsewhere in the province, our correctional facilities are not immune to this virus. On the advice of public health, the units where the cases were confirmed have been locked down temporarily to keep persons in custody safe. The situation is being monitored closely and assessed daily.”
托马斯写道，东海岸监狱司法协会可以在计划于2022年1月24日与惩教服务总监约翰·斯科维尔（John Scoville）会面时提出其担忧。
On Friday, East Coast Prison Justice Society and Women’s Wellness Within released a joint statement calling for more transparency.
“In recent days we have learned of an exponential increase of COVID-19 numbers at the federal Nova facility for women in Truro. There is no comparable routine public reporting of COVID-19 rates in provincial corrections,” the two organizations said in the statement.
“然而，东海岸监狱司法协会已获得囚犯和工作人员正司法司法副部长的确认；我们还被告知，回应是锁定受影响的单位。”
诺瓦研究所爆发与省监狱之间的另一个区别是疫苗接种率。在诺瓦近88％of prisoners are fully vaccinated. Vaccine uptake among the male population in provincial jails is less than 50%, according to East Coast Prison Justice Society, “with the lowest vaccination rates being amongst African Nova Scotian and/or Indigenous persons, who are disproportionately represented in provincial custody.”
据东海岸监狱司法协会称，这种低吸收源于“长期以来对省级矫正中医疗保健的恐惧和不信任的文化”。该协会在12月21日的信中说，解决方案是与文化相关的教育。蒂法尼·理查兹（Tiffany Richards）博士的工作举个例子。
两个组织的联合statement makes five specific requests of government:
- 确保囚犯和员工可以接种疫苗，并订婚社区代表以帮助建立信任；
- 制定其他保护措施，包括分配足够质量和数量以防止Omicron的面具，并获得频繁的COVID-19测试；
- Ensure that prisoners’ health and human rights are impaired as little as possible while promoting public health, including by documenting the duration of lockdowns and any measures taken to ensure the least restriction necessary to meet public health objectives;
- Re-institute expedited bail hearings and bail reviews, and reviews of eligibility for temporary absences;
- Collaborate with the non-profit sector (including Elizabeth Fry Societies, Coverdale Courtwork Society and John Howard Society) to provide short- and long-term supports for persons released from detention and alternatives to pre-trial detention (“bail beds”) as well as community access for East Coast Forensic Hospital patients granted community release.
根据周五的新闻稿，截至周三，伯恩赛德监狱有233名囚犯。该省表示，它具有“制定了全面的Covid-19预防和管理计划”。
“在大流行开始以来一直在惩教设施中进行有效管理的入院和释放。在既定协议之后，考虑合格的囚犯要尽早发布。”
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