Russian Embassy Asks State Department For Health Update On Russian Prisoners In US

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2020) The Russian Embassy in Washington has sent a letter to the US State Department asking for an update on the health status of Russian prisoners currently incarcerated in the US, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the country's prisons, the Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said on Monday morning.

"We have not overlooked the information on the COVID-19 outbreak in US prisons. We immediately sent a request to the State Department to inform of the health of [Russian] citizens held in correctional institutions," Antonov wrote in a post on the Russian embassy's official Facebook page.

The first coronavirus-related death was reported among the US prison population on Saturday. Patrick Jones, an inmate at Federal Correctional Institution Oakdale in the state of Louisiana, died after he was initially transported on March 19 to a medical facility.

A total of 14 inmates and 13 prison staff members in the US have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.