CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Coronavirus has infected at least 16 of 122 inmates at the Pampanga provincial jail after they were exposed to a prisoner who died last week of COVID-19.
Dr. Jose Antonio Rivera, provincial health officer, said the infected inmates had been sent on quarantine in the provincial hospital.
Among the 30 employees of the provincial jail, Rivera said one tested positive for SARS Cov2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and was now on quarantine.
The symptoms were mild, though, he said.
The cases erupted although the jail has been closed to visitors since March 17, according to Edwin Mangaliman, jail warden.
Pampanga logged 57 new COVID-19 positive cases, raising the number of cases in the province to 750 as of Wednesday (Nov. 4).
Department of Health data tallied 154 cases in Pampanga on Monday (Nov.2), the highest nationwide that day, although provincial health officials validated only 72 cases.
The province has 3,327 recoveries and 185 fatalities.