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As the body count at the Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ont., rose to 13, it was fitting that the chief medical officer said her greatest concerns are about vulnerable populations who reside in “enclosed settings”. Long term care homes are already being referred to as “war zones”.

Yet much less prominence has been given to another group of “high risk individuals” identified by Theresa Tam – inmates of correctional facilities.

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That may be about to change. On Sunday, Corrections Canada revealed two inmates at a maximum security facility in Quebec had tested positive for COVID-19 – the first prisoners in a federal institution to catch the virus (although nine employees had already received positive test results).

Fear about the rapid spread of coronavirus in prisons has provoked a global surge in dissent and violence. In Brazil, 1,000 prisoners escaped detention. Peru, Chile and Venezuela have all experienced riots, while 23 prisoners were killed in Columbia after violence erupted over what prisoners perceived were inadequate measures to protect them. In France, inmates refused to return to their cells and a facility in New Jersey has seen some prisoners go on hunger strike.