On Friday, Luxembourg's Prison Administration decided to increase measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), and particularly avoid its entry, in detention centres.

To this end, the Prison Administration has planned various actions adapted to different scenarios. The administration recalled that there wre no confirmed cases of infection in the detention centres to date.

Nevertheless, a significant number of those detained belong to the "vulnerable population" in terms of health, according to the Prison Administration. In addition, they are in a confined environment. Therefore, the present aim is to avoid the entry of coronavirus into prison. For this purpose, internal movements are limited to the strict minimum. In order to protect the health of prison staff and detained persons, various measures aimed at interrupting potential chains of infection will be applied from Monday 16 March 2020.

Indeed, prison visits will be reduced to the strict minimum and take place under very strict control and hygiene conditions. The number of visits is limited to 25 visits per week, with maximum two people per visit and visitors are subject to an in-depth inspection (fill out a questionnaire, have their temperature measured, etc.). In addition, the visit will take place in a secure visiting room, where the detainee is separated by a visitors' glass, thereby preventing virus transmission as much as possible. At the Givenich centre, visiting hours have been shifted in order to avoid the gathering of several people in the same place.

Similarly, visits by lawyers to Schrassig Prison will be reduced to the strict minimum and activities requiring the intervention of external persons have been cancelled. Transfers of detainees from one prison centre to another are to be avoided as far as possible and the transportation of detainees to court will also be kept to a minimum.

In addition, training courses, workshops and sports activities at Schrassig Prison have been cancelled. Only inmates who work in the laundry, kitchen, keychain or section chore, indoor or outdoor chore will continue to work. Only training courses have been cancelled at Givenich.

Finally, new entrants to Schrassig Prison are to be subject to appropriate sanitary measures. As a precaution, specific sections will be made available to people likely to be infected.

The above measures will remain valid until further notice.