Centres de rétention : étrangers et policiers face au coronavirus
Originally published by Dalloz Actualité on 18/03/2020
Summary
This article accounts some of the shortfalls and risks of operating administrative detention centers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Detainees are confined in suboptimal sanitary conditions, exacerbated by shortages of critical PPE. Furthermore, police officers and detention staff are not able to adequately enforce the health rules necessary to limit the spread of the virus. Government directives mandate that detainees exhibiting symptoms should be immediately placed in isolation in a single room and be subject to a medical examination. If the detainee is found to be infected, they are immediately removed from the facility and placed under house arrest (if there are accommodations) or taken in medical care. Detention orders are being challenged under appeal by refugee and human rights lawyers.