Western lawyers not fearful of potential COVID-19 outbreak in lock-ups
Published:Tuesday | September 1, 2020 | 12:27 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Cornwall Bar Association (CBA) is not worried about the possibility of some defendants held in detention contracting the coronavirus as news emerged of at least five cases being discovered at the St Andrew-based Horizon Adult Remand Centre.
CBA President Lambert Johnson told The Gleaner yesterday that the health ministry’s protocols to prevent an outbreak in detention facilities should prevent any calamity if carefully followed.
“We are not particularly concerned because the truth is that the way it is now, whether you are in custody or out of custody, there seems to be a lot of COVID-19 going around. So I hope the authorities will take the necessary precautions in custody,” said Johnson.
“The information I have suggests that the Ministry of Health is establishing protocols for them (detainees) internally, so once those protocols are followed, they should be okay. Of course, the Horizon Centre is a fairly tight and restricted place, so there is always the potential that COVID-19 will spread, but let us hope that it does not become out of control and that the systems and protocols put in place will be sufficient to prevent the entire institution from coming down with it,” he added.
Johnson added that detainees who are scheduled for court appearances are not physically brought to courtrooms but make their appearances remotely via video link.
News emerged on Sunday that four inmates and a correctional officer at the Horizon facility had tested positive for the coronavirus.
When COVID-19 first surfaced in Jamaica, police commanders across the island indicated that they had sanitised jail cells and instituted measures to ensure that new prisoners were kept away from the general population until their health status could be determined.
“We are doing extensive sanitation in all the police stations in this parish to ensure that we are operating in safe surroundings,” said Sharon Beeput, the commander for the Hanover division, told The Gleaner at the onset of COVID-19. “Our plan is to protect our officers and the prisoners in our care.”