Over the past week, 12 prisons in Thailand have reported Covid-19 infections infecting thousands of inmates. Out of the 9,789 Covid-19 infections reported by the Department of Corrections, nearly 4,000 cases were reported at the Chiang Mai Central Prison.
Outbreaks at the Bangkok Remand Prison and Central Women’s Correctional Institution were first reported last week after a pro-democracy protest leader announced that she tested positive for Covid-19 a week after she was released from the women’s prison. She had been held in detention for 8 weeks awaiting trial for lese majeste charges which carry an up to 15 year prison sentence for insulting or defaming the Thai Monarchy.
At the Central Women’s Correctional Institution, where 1,039 people are infected, the outbreak started from a new inmate who was infected with the coronavirus, the department’s director general said in…
