Bilibid inmate dead of COVID

MANILA, Philippines — An inmate of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) died of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Thursday night, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said Friday night.

The inmate’s relatives have been notified and the NBP Hospital staff coordinated with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), where the inmate was confined, for proper disposition of the inmate’s remains, the BuCor said.

The inmate is the first COVID-19 casualty of the BuCor, which runs seven penal colonies all over the country.

The inmate, from the state penitentiary’s medium security compound, was admitted to the RITM last Friday after manifesting symptoms of the disease.

Those who had contact with the inmate were quarantined and remain asymptomatic, according to BuCor.

The Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong recorded 21 inmates and a medical staff who tested positive for the coronavirus.

The 21 inmates are quarantined at Site Harry in the NBP’s medium security compound.

The city government opposed the transfer of the inmates from Mandaluyong to the NBP reservation, saying the residents of nearby barangays are at risk. 

The NBP’s medium security compound held 8,046 inmates as of January.