The total number of COVID-19 cases reported across prisons in Sri Lanka has risen to 717, said Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya on Tuesday (24).

He said the number increased following the detection of COVID-19 cases from the Women’s Ward at the Welikada Prison.

On Tuesday (24) 35 new COVID-19 cases from prisons located in Colombo, he said.

The spread of COVID-19 at the Women’s Ward at the Welikada Prison has been controlled while the situation at the Boossa Maximum Security Prison and the Old Bogambara Prison were also controlled.

All new inmates moved to the Boossa Maximum Security Prison and the Old Bogambara Prison are placed inside the premises, after a proper inspection, said the Commissioner General of Prisons.

The Director-General of Health Services had attached 05 Public Health Inspectors to the Department of Prisons and they will supervising the process to control the spread of COVID-19 across prisons, he added.

Prisoners who are released from the said prisons are first placed at the Pallekele Open Prison Camp or the Weerawila Open Prison Camp, before they are reintegrated into society, following a PCR test and a mandatory quarantine period.