By Calvin D. Cordova
CEBU CITY — Two inmates and a jail officer at the Cebu City Jail tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19).
One of the inmates, a 41-year-old, died last Sunday.
Jail Senior Insp. Jay Ylanan, spokesperson of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Central Visayas, said the City Jail has been on a lockdown since March 20.
“We know that our PDL (persons deprived of liberties) are susceptible to the virus. That’s why as early as March 20, we already implemented quarantine protocols. Those jail officers assigned inside were no longer allowed to go outside and those assigned outside were no allowed to get in for a month already,” said Ylanan.
Ylanan said the inmate who was found to have been afflicted with COVID 19 was committed to the jail last February 28.
“We suspect that he was already infected with the virus, but was asymptomatic when he was committed to the jail,” said Ylanan.
The City Jail currently houses close to 6,000 inmates, way beyond its maximum capacity of 1,000.
Ylanan said the City Jail has an isolation facility for those who will be tested positive or those who will manifest symptoms.
“We are making efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in the facility. We are monitoring our PDL but so far no other inmates are manifesting symptoms except for the two confirmed patients,” said Ylanan.
As of April 20, Central Visayas has 191 COVID 19 cases with 161 coming from Cebu City.