Coronavirus: inmates at US jail trying to infect themselves to get released, sheriff says
- Video footage shows prisoners drinking from container contaminated by Covid-19 patient in hope of catching disease
- Inmate who disrupted scheme reportedly beaten by fellow prisoners
Inmates in LA County jails are trying to infect themselves with the coronavirus, a video and evidence gathered inside the facilities show, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Monday morning.
The inmates were captured on video drinking from a container contaminated by an inmate infected with Covid-19, then hiding it as part of a scheme to get released.
“It is dismaying to realise anyone would intentionally infect themselves,” Villanueva told the Los Angeles Times on Monday.
The scheme was captured on video, according to sheriff’s officials. It was discovered by a trustee inmate who came across a stash of items that inmates believe would give them the virus that leads to the disease.
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According to law enforcement sources, a trustee was beaten by fellow inmates after disrupting the scheme by removing the items believed to be tainted with the coronavirus.
Since the start of the pandemic, 357 inmates have tested positive for Covid-19 inside the jails. The number of infected inmates has more than tripled since April 30, when 115 were found to have the virus.