Chinese inmates in Philippines fear the worst as coronavirus deaths rise
- Prisoners suspected to have contracted the coronavirus are dying in the country’s most notorious jail
- Officials of the overcrowded New Bilibid Prison took more than a week to inform some inmates they had likely tested positive for Covid-19, a source says
In the New Bilibid Prison (NBP)’s Building 14 alone, at least five Chinese prisoners died last month, said the person, who knows one of the dead inmates and other prison insiders. The building is where the most high-profile criminals are locked up.
Many Chinese prisoners in the national penitentiary are now worried they could be the next to die, the source said, as the overcrowding and poor hygiene there made it easy for the deadly Covid-19 disease to spread.
“They’re very worried they’ll be the next to go,” the person said. “It’s not safe there.”
Last week, the Philippine government said about 222 inmates in the country had tested positive for the coronavirus, while 10 had died and 31 had recovered. The NBP recorded the most number of infections, with 140 cases.
But the actual number of infections could be higher, human rights groups said, as prison authorities have failed to ascertain the cause of death for many inmates who died in prisons.