COVID-19: 15 corrections officers test positive at federal prison in Quebec

A COVID-19 outbreak at a federal prison in Quebec has seen 15 staff members and four inmates test positive for the novel coronavirus.

Correctional Services Canada revealed the infections at the medium-security La Macaza Institution in a statement Thursday morning.

It isn’t immediately clear what impact the staff infections are having on the facility, which is located about 200 kilometres northwest of Montreal in the Laurentian Mountains.

That includes whether reinforcements will be needed to ensure enough staff at the prison, which houses about 240 inmates.

However, Correctional Services is expected to provide an update on inmate infections across the rest of Canada later today.

The federal agency last week reported 17 active cases among inmates, though it has since announced outbreaks among inmates at a Nova Scotia women’s prison and a penitentiary in Ontario.

Correctional Services says it has started administering boosters to the 82 per cent of federal inmates who are fully vaccinated, while 86.1 per cent have received at least one dose.

by The Canadian Press