Home Affairs Committee Inquiry into Home Office preparedness for COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
An immigration detainee has already tested positive for COVID-19 at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). IRCs are high risk for clusters of COVID-19, and staff provide a conduit for infection to and from the community.
The response to COVID-19 within IRCs has already been problematic. It is widely acknowledged that even at the best of times, healthcare in IRCs is entirely inadequate and that detention can exacerbate existing medical conditions.
Many detainees are especially vulnerable due to their co-existing physical illnesses.
Click here to see the written evidence submitted by Medical Justice