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Prisons get Bt193m budget to prevent Covid-19 from spreading

Prisons get Bt193m budget to prevent Covid-19 from spreading

The Department of Corrections has disbursed Bt193.52 million to prisons nationwide to procure medical supplies for protection against Covid-19 and reduce crowdedness, director-general Narat Sawettanan said on Wednesday (April 22).

“The budget disbursement is a policy of Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin to increase prisons' efficiency in preventing Covid-19 infection,” he said. “It is divided in three parts; the first part of Bt56.6 million will be used for buying medical supplies to prevent the disease from spreading. The second part of Bt56.3 million will be used to construct quarantine zones and additional sleeping space for 24,588 inmates. The balance Bt80 million is earmarked to buy bunk beds for 24,217 inmates.”
Narat said that currently there are over 380,000 inmates in correctional facilities nationwide, while the prisons have a total capacity of only 220,000. “Additional sleeping space and bunk beds will help accommodate 48,775 inmates, increasing the total capacity to 268,775, which should help reduce the problem of crowdedness,” he said.
Narat said that so far there had been two confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection among prison inmates. Both have fully recovered, and there had been three confirmed cases among prison staff, who are still under hospital care. “The department will monitor the health of inmates and staff closely with the help of officials from local public health offices.”

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