Second Canadian Inmate In Federal Custody Succumbs To COVID-19 Complications

TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th May, 2020) An inmate in the province of Quebec has become the second Canadian in federal custody to die from novel coronavirus (COVID-19)-related complications, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said in a statement.

"On May 3, 2020, an inmate from the Federal Training Centre, multi-level unit, in Laval, [Quebec], died as an apparent result of complications related to COVID-19," the statement said on Tuesday. "This is the second death related to COVID-19 among federally sentenced inmates."

The Federal Training Center is one of three correctional facilities in Canada hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak along with the Joliette Institution - also in Quebec - and the Mission Institution in British Columbia. The three account for more 90 percent of COVID-19 cases in Canadian prisons.

Officials and civil liberties advocacy groups have expressed concerns that closed quarter environments like prisons are breeding grounds for highly infectious diseases like COVID-19.

According to 2018 Canadian government data, there are 38,786 adults in provincial/territorial or federal custody on a given day.

As of Tuesday, Canada's public health agency has identified 61,159 cases of the novel coronavirus, including 3,915 virus-related fatalities.