Operation and role of the Task Force of the Hungarian Prison Service headquarters in the fight back against COVID-19 epidemic

Abstract

During the coronavirus pandemic the Hungarian Prison Service had to introduce measures that were unknown for the service before and which had a significant impact on the daily duty of the staff. To adapt measures taken by the government for the prison service, the epidemic risks occurring during the special activities had to be modelled. The Task Force built-up and operated in the Hungarian Prison Service Headquarters took several measures that ensured the framework of rules needed for the successful protection. The virus could not enter the Hungarian prisons during the first wave and later on the statistics show more favourable infection and mortality rates among the inmates than in civil life. The current study presents the strategy of defence and the way of central management, as well as provides insight into the background of the decisions made.