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Uganda’s prisoner population surges, raising fears of COVID-19 outbreak

Uganda’s prisoner population surges, raising fears of COVID-19 outbreak

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA  UGANDA has recorded a 10% increase in the number of people in jail since March, a prison official told Reuters on Friday, with thousands jailed for alleged violations of coronavirus lockdown rules. By imposing one of Africa's strictest lockdowns, the country of 42 million has registered just 1,213 COVID-19 cases and five deaths from the disease, despite crumbling public hospitals, doctors' strikes and corruption scandals. But there have been at least three cases of the novel coronavirus in jails, fuelling concerns it could spread among prisoners. About 30 inmates who feared infection have escaped since the pandemic hit…
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