(MENAFN- Colombo Gazette) By Vyshnavy Velrajh
Six inmates and a prison official from the Welikada prison in Colombo have contracted the coronavirus.
Commissioner of operations of Sri Lanka Prisons Chandana Ekanayake told Colombo Gazette that the PCR tests reports of the two male and four female inmates obtained yesterday had confirmed they had tested positive.
The department of Prisons has commenced investigations to ascertain the mode of transmission.
However, it is strongly suspected that the virus may have been contracted from a female staff member who worked at the prison dispensary and had tested positive for the coronavirus 2- days ago.
Chandana Ekanayake said as prison officials are also found to be travelling to various places due to work-related matters this too is considered as a possibility for the virus to have been transmitted.
Following the detection, all prison officials and inmates have been quarantined, while they are to be subjected to PCR tests.
The infected Prison official has been transferred to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Mulleriyawa, while the inmates have been admitted to the Covid treatment facility in Welikanda, he added.
This is the second coronavirus outbreak to be reported from the Welikada prison since the initial outbreak in March 2020.
An inmate at the Welikada prison had contracted the coronavirus in July, reporting the first outbreak at the prison.
This led to the outbreak reported at the Kandakadu and Senapura Rehabilitation Centres as the infected inmate had been placed at the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Center.
Over 600 inmates and staff members of both the Kandakadu and Senapura Rehabilitation Centres were infected as a result of the outbreak. (Colombo Gazette)
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