Experts and advocates are calling on governments to release some inmates in provincial jails and federal prisons as outbreaks of COVID-19 driven by the fast-moving Omicron variant spread through the country’s correctional facilities.
People in tightly-packed living facilities are already more vulnerable to outbreaks, and the methods used in corrections to mitigate those risks — such as prolonged lockdowns or time in segregation — are inhumane, said Martha Paynter, a registered nurse and chair of Wellness Within, a group advocating for health equity in Nova Scotia.
Staff also risk contracting the virus in these facilities and spreading it in the community,
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