BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2020) Thirty prison inmates in Peru have died from COVID-19, the country's Justice Minister Fernando Castaneda said on Wednesday.
The country has about 97,000 prisoners and 11,300 prison personnel.
"Five hundred seventy nine inmates are in prisons, 36 have been hospitalized, and 30 have died from COVID-19," Castaneda said, adding that the prisoners had likely contracted the disease from prison staff.
The minister added that 224 prison workers have tested positive for the coronavirus. Seven of them died, 16 have been hospitalized and the others are staying at home.
Peru has so far confirmed 31,190 coronavirus cases with the death toll reaching 854 people.
