Leaders of various United Nations agencies on Wednesday urged governments to take "all appropriate public health measures" to keep persons in detention and confinement safe from COVID-19.

"We emphasize the need to minimize the occurrence of the disease in these settings and to guarantee that adequate preventive measures are in place to ensure a gender-responsive approach and preventing large outbreaks of COVID-19", the heads of  the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Health Organization (WHO), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN agency leading the fight against HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said in a signed statement.

The call comes as the number of COVID-19 infections globally surpassed 4.3 million and the death toll climbed above 294,000.

As the disease continues to spread across the world, some government ordered a release of some prisoners in efforts to decongest the correctional facilities, which are seen as high-risk places.

The leaders said overcrowding in detention sites caused an “insurmountable obstacle for preventing, preparing for or responding to COVID-19".

UNODC's Ghada Fathi Waly; WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; Winnie Byanyima of UNAIDS; and High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, also emphasized the need to "establish an up-to-date coordination system that brings together health and justice sectors, keeps prison staff well-informed and guarantees that all human rights in these settings are respected".

The UN leaders also urged for the release of non-violent detainees as well as for those at high-risk, such as the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions and advocated for increased hygiene to prevent or limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Source(s): United Nations