Almost half of the inmates at the Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution in San Pedro, California, have tested positive for coronavirus, representing the worst outbreak of the COVID-19 disease in a federal prison in the United States, local media reported Wednesday. .
As of Tuesday, 443 of the 1,055 inmates at the Los Angeles County prison had the virus, along with 10 staff members, and two prisoners have already died from COVID-19, according to data released by the Department of Prisons (BOP ).
The prison, which opened on June 1, 1938, has housed prisoners as famous as Al Capone.
RELATED
The BOP reported that a total of 1,313 inmates and 335 employees nationwide have tested positive after undergoing tests for the coronavirus. At least 30 coronavirus-infected detainees in these federal prisons have died amid the pandemic.
The outbreak of the disease at San Pedro prison escalated rapidly in the week as prison officials increased the evidence, according to information from the Los Angeles Times.
The newspaper reported dozens of inmates were transferred to military-style tents in an effort to create social estrangement.
Inmates’ relatives said authorities have transferred some inmates to the low-security prison in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
Visitors are also not allowed in the facility.
Authorities would also be evaluating whether any prisoner is eligible to continue their sentence under house arrest.
The prison held until 2014 immigrants who were in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).
Immigration authorities stopped using the facility after registering several problems to ensure the health and well-being of detainees.
According to the latest ICE figures, there is confirmation of at least 425 cases of coronavirus among those detained, which is 60% of the 705 who were tested.
