Anti-infection measures kept British prisoners safe during the pandemic

WHEN COVID hit, Britain’s ageing prisons could have been sites of mass infection and death. Many of the 118 in England and Wales were built during the Victorian era and are poorly ventilated. Seventy-two were holding more prisoners than their theoretical maximum capacity. Prisoners were often doubled up in cells meant for one—typically three metres by two metres. A trend towards longer sentences meant a growing number of inmates were older, and therefore more at risk of severe illness. Officials estimated that without rigid anti-infection measures, most of the 83,000 they held might catch the disease, and more than 2,000 could die.