The Uganda Prisons Service Commissioner General, Dr Johnson Byabashaija, has suspended all visits and admission of new inmates to Luzira in an attempt to prevent the spreading of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) into jail facilities.
Byabashaija has put emphasis on five districts that include Mubende, Kassanda, Wakiso, Kampala and Mukono that have already recorded Ebola cases where in some instances the patients have already succumbed to it.
Ebola which was first diagnosed in the Mubende district has so far claimed the lives of more than 30 people while more than 50 others are being treated in various hospitals. At least more than three dozen of Ebola patients have recovered after being treated in hospitals like Mubende, Fort Portal, and Entebbe.
In the Standard Operating Procedures -SOPs issued by Byabashaija as released to the media by Prisons Spokesperson, Frank Baine, all visits to prison units, courts, and community works have been suspended until further notice.
“Referral of sick prisoners outside the prison health system is suspended until further notice. All staff should wear face masks while on duty. The community works in Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono is suspended until further notice,” Byabashaija’s orders read in part.
The Kampala remand prison has been stopped from admitting new prisoners from Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono district courts. Byabashaija has directed staff on duty in courts to be provided with personal protective gear with immediate effect.