Covid-19 and prisons: lockdown to contain outbreak difficult but needed, outgoing Hong Kong correctional services chief says, insists he did ‘fair’ job

The decision to lock down Hong Kong’s prisons to contain Covid-19 outbreaks and force inmates to miss trial dates was difficult but necessary, the outgoing head of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) has said, insisting he did a “fair” job in containing the spread of the virus behind bars

In an interview with the Post, Commissioner of Correctional Services Woo Ying-ming, 56, recalled the challenges last month in dealing with the first widespread infections in prisons. The overloaded public hospitals, quarantine facilities and laboratories for coronavirus screenings meant the chief was “on his own” when it came to managing infected detainees.

After securing nearly 50,000 rapid test kits, Woo ordered 8,000 people in custody to undergo five rounds of Covid-19 testing between February 18 and February 27, during which they were forbidden from leaving their cells. They could not attend trials until all of the tests came back negative.

The department also suspended in-person social visits on February 5 and turned three correctional centres into isolation facilities for infected inmates or close contacts already in detention. Visits were set to resume this week.

“Were the measures efficient? I think I did a fair job. The decisions were difficult but I did not hesitate. They were acute and necessary,” Woo said. “If we had not conducted universal rapid tests and made our own isolation facilities, I am sure all 8,000 inmates and 7,000 prison staff would have been infected.”

Noting the number of infected inmates stood at about 2,400, he added: “I think I could face my conscience.”

As of Friday, about 850 infected persons in custody were still undergoing isolation and treatment, while roughly 1,630 have recovered. Daily confirmed cases inside prisons have fallen from 140 in late February to an average of 75 as of last week.