In response to the half-accurate and unverified information which have appeared in certain media regarding the number of people infected with COVID-19 in the District Prison in Leskovac, the Penal Sanctions Enforcement Administration of the Ministry of Justice would like to clarify that one person, who is a member of the prison security services, has tested positive for COVID-19 presence. One convicted person and another member of the prison security services are presently in hospital care for certain health issues, but neither has tested positive for COVID-19 presence.
Out of precaution, 19 prison employees presumed to have been in contact with these individuals are at home in self-quarantine. The prison administration is in daily contact with the employees concerned, all of whom are feeling well. For some of them, the 14-day self-quarantine measure will end on 4 April, and most of them have not displayed any COVID-19 symptoms. Nevertheless, all of them will return to work only after they have been tested for COVID-19 presence.
As a reminder, the Public Information and Media Act stipulates that ‘prior to publishing information, editor[s] and journalist[s] shall verify such information for accuracy and completeness with due care appropriate for the given circumstances’. Considering the present state of emergency, the binding nature of this statutory provision is more important than ever.
The required prior verification of the published (mis)information was lacking in that the respective reporting media had failed to contact the Penal Sanctions Enforcement Administration requesting information verification. Such reporting practices can be qualified as tendentious, and they give rise to more concerns among the prisoners and the prison employees. Moreover, everyone has the right to accurate, complete and timely information about matters of public importance, which all media must uphold as well as consider the possible impact of unverified information on the public.
To reiterate, all prison employees upon entering the facility to start their shifts are subject to a body temperature check with a contactless thermometer. In case anyone has an elevated body temperature, they are sent home immediately and instructed to call their doctor.
Furthermore, penal correctional institutions (PCIs) have the necessary disinfection supplies, protective face masks and hand gloves, and all areas are disinfected multiple times a day. They are regularly receiving protective face masks made by convicts in four prisons: the PCI in Sremska Mitrovica, the PCI in Niš, the PCI in Požarevac−Zabela, and the PCI for Women in Požarevac. Around 6,000 masks are being manufactured a day.