MASS TRANSMISSION AT DETENTION CENTER

[Anchor Lead]

COVID-19 transmissions in the Donbgu Detention Center are not likely to abate anytime soon. More than 100 cases were discovered on Saturday after testing inmates for the fifth time. Now the total number of confirmed cases associated with the prison has surpassed 1,000.

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The Dongbu Detention Center in Seoul tested 1,100 inmates for the fifth time on Saturday. These inmates tested negative in the four previous tests. This time 121 more infections were discovered and seven more are waiting for their results. The number has more than halved from some 300 new cases found in the second round of testing. But it is similar to the result of the fourth testing conducted on December 30th. With more than 100 additional cases in just three days, the total number of cases linked to the prison has exceeded 1,000. The exact number tallied by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is 1,084. the figure includes inmates, prison staff and their families. A total of 1,040 inmates were confirmed with COVID-19, amounting to 43% of all the inmates tested in the first round of testing last month. Authorities have subsequently decided to move uninfected inmates to other correctional facilities today to lower prison capacity. All transferred inmates will be tested again tomorrow. But the risk of spreading the disease to other prisons remain. Four inmates infected with COVID-19 at the Gangwon Northern Correctional Facility on Saturday had been transferred from the Dongbu Detention Center. The justice ministry said the inmates from Dongbu will be given individual cells and kept away from the other prisoners. Also, all inmates will be tested if a confirmed case is found among the transferred inmates. Meanwhile, the ministry announced that as of 5 P.M., Sunday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in correctional facilities nationwide reached 1,108.