Roughly 100 Dutch prisoners will begin producing protective cotton face masks that can be used by fellow prisoners or jail staff as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread throughout the country, the Dutch News portal reported on Tuesday, citing a Justice Ministry spokesman
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2020) Roughly 100 Dutch prisoners will begin producing protective cotton face masks that can be used by fellow prisoners or jail staff as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread throughout the country, the Dutch news portal reported on Tuesday, citing a Justice Ministry spokesman.
According to the portal, it is hoped that 50,000 masks could be produced weekly by the country's penal population, although the masks will be unsuitable for medical professionals and they would not be suitably sterile.
"But they can be used by prisoners with a cough or prison staff and others working in detention centres and institutions," the portal cited a Justice Ministry spokesman as saying.
At present, there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease in Dutch jails or juvenile detention centers, the portal stated. However, all prisoner visits have been canceled to limit the risk of infection.
The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport confirmed 292 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, raising the overall total in the country since the start of the outbreak to 1,705 with 43 deaths. A total of 389 medical professionals contracted the disease, the ministry confirmed.
