Icon: enlarge
Prison in Namur: The situation is "very serious"
Photo: BRUNO FAHY / AFP
The prison in Namur, Belgium is grappling with a major corona outbreak.
According to the BRF radio, almost 50 inmates tested positive a week ago, and now the situation has worsened.
Accordingly, more than half of the 132 prisoners in the detention center are infected, the authorities said on Saturday.
Around 60 of the 115 employees have also been infected since the first case occurred at the beginning of last week.
The prison administration spokeswoman said the situation was assessed as "very serious."
One of the infected prisoners was therefore taken to a hospital.
Quarantine in the cells, no showers
All inmates of the prison are now under quarantine.
They are not allowed to receive visitors or leave their cells, not even to go to the shower rooms.
The prison administration also announced that the inmates were provided with hygiene products and one hot meal per day.
A corona outbreak can have serious consequences in prisons because of the cramped living conditions.
Several infections had also occurred in a German institution in Berlin-Moabit before Christmas.
For prisoners, the bans on contact and visits imposed because of the pandemic mean an additional burden.
The more contagious British coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which is also increasingly spreading in Germany, now dominates in Belgium.
The Belgian authorities warned citizens on Friday to "be very careful", as the number of new corona infections is currently rising sharply again.
In terms of the death rate, Belgium is one of the countries in the world hardest hit by the corona pandemic.
To contain the pandemic, the EU country has a night curfew, and bars, restaurants and cafes are also closed.
A maximum of four people are allowed to meet outdoors.
Since the end of January, Belgians are no longer allowed to undertake non-mandatory trips abroad.
Icon: The mirror
apr / AFP