China News Service, July 1 (Xinhua) According to foreign media reports, the California authorities announced on June 30 that at the San Quentin Prison, one of California's oldest prisons, there has been a surge in new cases of pneumonia, and more than 1,000 prisoners have tested positive for the virus.
Data map: A security officer patrols the Stanford Shopping Center in Santa Clara County, Northern California. China News Service reporter Liu Guanguan
"This is where we are currently deeply concerned and worried," California Governor Newsom said. He pointed out that in the San Quentin Prison near San Francisco, 42% of the approximately 3,500 inmates were considered to be "in poor health."
Unlike other prisons in California, San Quentin State Prison was largely unaffected by the new corona virus until early June. However, the transfer of prisoners from prisons severely affected by the epidemic (such as the Chino California Men's Prison) led to the spread of the virus.
Matt Willis, the health director of Marin County, where St. Quentin Prison is located, said: "Unfortunately, they were sent to St. Quentin Prison without testing to lay the hidden dangers for the outbreak in the second state prison. ."
At present, the new crown cases in San Quentin Prison account for half of all prison cases in California, and the number of directors in California is about 113,000. California is the most populous state in the United States and one of the most severely infected with the new coronavirus, with more than 200,000 confirmed cases and nearly 6,000 deaths.
In order to avoid a high mortality rate, the California authorities decided to release about 3,500 prisoners who were arrested for minor crimes and were less than 180 days away from prison. Newsom announced on June 29 that another 3,500 inmates may be released, 110 of whom are serving sentences at San Quentin Prison.