The Andrews government talks a lot about following expert advice, but they have ignored VALS and experts from across the world about managing outbreaks in Victoria’s prisons.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more vulnerable to Covid and are less likely to get appropriate health care in prison.
We are concerned about the lack of transparency by Corrections Victoria. When there were outbreaks in other high-risk settings, such as aged care facilities, the public were given much more detail about those outbreaks on a daily basis.
People in prison have a right to equitable healthcare. Denying people in prison appropriate health care risks a surge of infections resulting in either long-term complications or deaths in custody. It also risks a larger Covid outbreak in the Victorian community, given the daily movement of large numbers of staff in and out of prisons.
