210 at Welikada Prison test negative for COVID-19

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – PCR tests conducted on around 300 samples obtained from inmates and officers at the Welikada Prison has confirmed that 210 of them had not contracted the novel coronavirus.

The Department of Prisons said the remaining test results will be released today.

A group of inmates and staff at the prison were subject to PCR tests after an inmate of the Welikada Prison tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday.

The inmate has since been admitted to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

Meanwhile 174 inmates at the prison ward in which the inmate who tested positive for the virus was held in, have been directed to undergo quarantine at the Kandakadu quarantine facility operated by the Army, in Polonnaruwa.

Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said the inmates were transferred to the quarantine centre last night based on directives issued by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Prisons Department also took steps to disinfect the prison ward that the inmate was housed in.

Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe said the individual was transferred to the Welikada Prison on the 27th of June, from a rehabilitation centre in Kandakadu.

He was also escorted to the Polonnaruwa Prison on the 26th of June for a Court proceeding while at the Kandakadu rehabilitation centre.

The Department of Prisons said visitors will not be allowed at the Welikada Prison until further notice