Does In-Person Visiting Affect the Number of COVID-19 Cases in Prisons?

Even with the current advances that have been made in regard to COVID-19, such as a better understanding of the disease and the steady growth in the number of vaccinated individuals, it remains a challenge for humanity. Dealing with the disease in prison settings has been particularly difficult. Thi...

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Autores principales: Lysandro Pinto Borges, Aline Fagundes Martins, Daniela Raguer Valadão de Souza, José Melquiades de Rezende Neto, Aryanne Araujo Santos, Brenda Morais Oliveira, Igor Leonardo Santos Matos, Grazielly Bispo da Invenção, Kezia Alves dos Santos, Nicolas Alessandro Alves Souza, Pamela Chaves de Jesus, Cliomar Alves dos Santos, Marco Aurélio de Oliveira Goes, Mércia Simone Feitosa de Souza, Ikaro Daniel de Carvalho Barreto, Adriana Gibara Guimarães, Lucindo José Quintans-Júnior
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/8e1e135771fe4ea486615c17ad3d4115
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Sumario:Even with the current advances that have been made in regard to COVID-19, such as a better understanding of the disease and the steady growth in the number of vaccinated individuals, it remains a challenge for humanity. Dealing with the disease in prison settings has been particularly difficult. This study sought to discover whether in-person visiting affected the number of cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the penitentiaries in the state of Sergipe (Brazil). We conducted a two-phase study (when visiting was suspended and after it recommenced) in seven penitentiaries in Sergipe using immunochromatography and nasopharyngeal swab testing to evaluate whether visiting affects the number of COVID-19 cases. In the first phase (<i>n</i> = 778), 57.6% of inmates reported risk factors and 32.5% were positive for COVID-19 (18.9% IgM, 24.2% IgG, 1% antigen). In the second phase, 19.6% tested positive (13.9% IgM, 7.9% IgG, 0.2% antigen). The occurrence of positive cases of COVID-19 and positive results (IgM and IgG) were significantly higher in the first phase. In the second phase, 56.7% of inmates had received visits and 18.7% were positive for COVID-19 (14% IgM, 7% IgG). Among those who had not received visits, 20.9% tested positive (13.8% IgM, 9.2% IgG, 0.5% antigen). There was no significant difference in positive cases/results between inmates that had and had not received visits. These findings suggest that, under the conditions assessed, visiting does not seem to affect the number of COVID-19 cases in prisons and reinforces the importance of sanitary measures to control dissemination.