How can ‘lockdown’ work when 27 prisoners in the UK have tested positive across 14 different prisons

[Bearbehind]

Just that really

I’m baffled by this

Presumably because there are lots of staff and visitors going in and out of prisons?

Visitors visiting when there was no lockdown. Prison officers who go home and come back to the prison and many of the other workers. Servers staff and so on.

They are not bubbles. People come and go.

New prisoners bringing in the virus, staff and visitors can also bring it in.

What is it you don't understand?
prisoners often cannot socially isolate when they use shared bathrooms or when they eat in large groups or work or excercise or watch TV . Prisons are very overcrowded with more than one to a cell often

The virus just needs to be brought in by a visitor or a guard and it will run rife.

Visits have now been cancelled.

But, yes. As the PP has just said. There is a lot of activity in prisons from staff, visitors etc.

Because there can't ever be total lockdown, short of isolating everyone inside under lock and key and the army in hazmat gear handing food over.
There will always be some "leakage".
Especially while it's only lockdown lite.

Or.be brought in by a new prisoner

Visitors visiting when there was no lockdown. Prison officers who go home and come back to the prison and many of the other workers. Servers staff and so on

^^this. It can't be that hard to grasp surely?

A prison officer has a partner/does food shopping/has a child in school/teacher has relatives.
Etc etc.

Because they are massive communal spaces with shared bathing facilities?

Cos once its in a prison its very hard not to prevent its spread within a prison.

Lockdownreduces the number of people you can spread the virus too and therefore makes it easier to trace and stop it.

If we were tracing and stopping it.

Which were not

Eh? They're not Willy Wonkers Chocolate Factory you know. People from the outside world come and go daily. No golden ticket required

New prisoner has come from court...

You have to think in terms of when two people come within 1 metre of each other they are coming into contact with every person the other one has.

It's like six degrees of separation but more shit.

Because they let the prison guards out.. and then in again. Along with new prisoners. Who they don’t let out admittedly.

Some of them obvs didn’t realise they had it and then it went round the prison population..

I’m sorry I know we’ve all had brain fart moments but this tickled me.

It will be a nightmare if it spreads through prisons, as it will (and is) through nursing homes.

did you think all prisoners and staff were locked in 24/7, with no one entering the building and no one leaving it?

But prisons by definition are more locked down than the situation where people are even just going out for basic groceries

So if it spreads so quickly and seemingly randomly, can it be contained?

There is vast movement of people in the prison population. New prisoners are being remanded or sentenced daily by the courts. It only takes one new prisoner to have the virus and it’ll spread like wildfire.

No it can’t be contained. Lockdown isn’t about that. It’s about slowing the spread in order to reduce the strain on the NHS at any one time.
It only takes one visitor to the prison, or one member of staff, to pass it on to one prisoner. The prisoners then mix with other prisoners and it is passed on extremely quickly and easily.

Barebehind you can't contain a virus totally, it will spread in all environments. You can minimise its spread but you can't stop it sadly.

Viruses are very very good at spreading, it's their purpose. Hence why they live on surfaces and in the air after you have coughed briefly.

Many prisons share bathrooms, canteens, phones to speak to relatives. Door handles, goods passing through. They are not isolated as much as you think they are.

Prisons stand a better chance of containment than most institutions, however, just as in any other institution, a care home for example, containment isnt always the gold that glitters. Prisons are creaking as it is and people are released daily, therefore a prison cant have perfect containment.

I know the general consensus is that prisoners should be on bread and gruel, but it's a system that has healthcare challenges at the best of times. Prison officers are at risk yet they're key workers. Likely without PPE too.

Whether we like it or not, prisoners are in the care of the state. It is a costly system.

I think they also only went on lockdown a couple of days ago.

They're not more locked down. For the prisoners but not for the staff.

Plus it's a lot more difficult to socially distance once there. Lots of close contact for various reasons.
It's really not difficult to understand at all

Prisons stand a better chance of containment than most institutions

I guess that’s my point

I’m not for one second saying we should lift the current restrictions, I’m just thinking that they’re never going to be very effective as this virus seems to be incredibly contagious so if you’re exposed to it, you’re going to get it

It’s then just a question of how much it effects you

The situation in Italy, Spain and US seem to support that too

Outside visitors were only banned on Monday in most places. Prison officers still have to come home to their families and go back to work now. If their family are also key workers leaving the house regularly then it's not difficult to see how it happens.