VIENTIANE (XINHUA) – Southern Laos’ Savannakhet province is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases with more than 100 locally transmitted cases being reported in the past few days, mostly among prisoners.
The prisoners were believed to have caught the virus from an official working at the prison, said the province’s deputy governor and head of the provincial taskforce for COVID-19 prevention and control Lingthong Sengtavan according to a report by local daily Vientiane Times yesterday.
Provincial authorities have set up a quarantine centre for the prisoners, while those who do not have the virus have been moved to other locations.
Prison staff must comply with the measures imposed by the COVID-19 task force to prevent further spread of the virus, Lingthong said.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Laos had risen to 12,621 yesterday after 152 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health.
As of yesterday, 8,305 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
