BuCor records 451 COVID-19 cases among inmates, staff

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has recorded 451 confirmed COVID-19 cases among its inmates and personnel.

There were 292 cases among persons deprived of liberty (PDL) and 159 among staff members as of Monday, September 21, according to a monitoring report from the bureau.

Twenty-six inmates have died of the infectious disease. There are 30 active cases among both BuCor inmates and staff nationwide.

Most of the cases among both inmates and personnel were recorded at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, the largest of the BuCor's seven facilities across the country.

In the national penitentiary, 192 inmates were confirmed positive, 23 have died, and 168 have recovered. Fifty-two personnel have been infected, and all but one have been listed as recoveries.

The Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, on the other hand, has so far seen 100 confirmed cases, three deaths, and 83 recoveries among its inmates. Its 18 COVID-19-positive staff members have all recovered.

Outside of Metro Manila, one staff member each in the Sablayan, Davao, and Iwahig Prison and Penal Farms tested positive for COVID-19. The only remaining active case among them is in Iwahig.

The San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City reported two cases among staff; both have recovered.

The Leyte Regional Prison remains COVID-19 free, according to the report.

The Department of Justice announced last July that the number of COVID-19 cases in the BuCor, its attached agency, was 343, including 18 deaths and 323 recoveries.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that month that 476 BuCor inmates died of COVID-19 and other causes from January to July 19 this year.

One of the inmates who died was Jaybee Sebastian, a convict who was supposed to testify in Senator Leila De Lima's drug case trial. — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/RSJ, GMA News