By Froilan Gallardo, Special Correspondent .
OVER two dozen inmates at the Lumbia City Jail here have been infected with Covid-19, health officials said.
City Health Office chief epidemiologist Dr. Joselito Retuya said the 28 inmates found positive were still in the holding area when they were tested positive via real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction tests.
“The positive cases have the slim chance of infecting the rest of the inmates since they are separated,” Retuya said.
Retuya said it is a standard procedure by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to conduct swab tests on all incoming inmates before they can enter the main facility of the city jail.
He said the inmates were tested on Sunday.
Retuya said at the moment, the inmates are in the holding area located in a new three-storey building, which has been turned into a Covid-19 treatment facility for those behind bars.
Aside from the 28 infected inmates, Retuya said two earlier batches of prisoners were also tested positive.
“The earlier batches have only one of two infected inmates. This is the first time that we found many inmates to be infected,” he said.
Retuya said the inmates may have been infected at the holding cells of police precincts where they waited for the courts to issue commitment orders against them.
The City Health Office registered 17 local transmissions, which if the 28 inmates were included brought the total to 42 infected people today.
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