Panic in Yaounde prison after detection of alleged coronavirus case

Unconfirmed reports have it that a patient has tested positive for the coronavirus at the Kondengui central prison in Yaounde.

A source at the detention facility says, “instead of taking him somewhere else, he was instead brought inside the prison for quarantine.”

The inmate said to be from quarter one in Kondengui prison, went out to the hospital yesterday for a medical check-up.

Built in 1967 for 1,500 inmates, the detention facility currently holds an estimated 5000, according to a latest Human Rights Watch Report.

“On coming back, the medical personnel confirmed that he is suspected to be positive. He has been Quarantine in a particular room alone since yesterday” says an inmate who adds that the report has sparked panic throughout the detention facility.

“This morning detainees have gathered around the area where he has been Quarantine in a panic that it might be spread to the entire prison,” he says.

“Other newly brought in inmates are being quarantined in a particular quarter of the prison for 14 days before they are sent to the various prison quarters if tested negative” he adds.

Amid complains of overcrowding, Amnesty International in 2011 described conditions as “harsh, with inmates suffering overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate food.

Government is yet to make any official remark about the allegation.

MMI