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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Alasdair Clark

Coronavirus: Second prisoner suspected to have died, with three confirmed cases in Scots prisons

A second Scottish prisoner is reported to have died from coronavirus.

The Scottish Prison Service said that they were currently aware of three confirmed cases across the country.

Around 30 people are believed to be self-isolating across the prison estate as part of measures to tackle the pandemic.

Edinburgh Live reported last week how serial sex offender John Angus, 66, became the first prisoner to die from the virus at Saughton Prison.

It was understood John Angus collapsed in a shower at Saughton Prison after contracting the deadly virus.

Scottish Prison Service spokesperson Tom Fox has said the prison population across Scotland is at its lowest level since March 2018.

Staff absence rates amongst the SPS are around 20%.

Fox told BBC Good Morning Scotland: “We’re currently sitting with 7,339 people in custody – to put that in context, that’s 821 less than the same week last year, so the population has come down.

“That’s probably due to the court business being interrupted and a variety of other factors, but it’s actually helped us maintain a greater degree of social isolation in prison than would have been possible had that not been the case.

“The population has been declining since the lockdown started and that’s obviously helped because we’re trying to maintain the same levels of social distancing and isolation as people are being asked to maintain in the community.

“It’s a challenge but it’s been made possible both through the hard work of prison staff and NHS staff and the co-operation of people in custody who are co-operating with staff.”

For all of the latest updates on coronavirus in Edinburgh, visit our breaking news live blog here.

Another way to stay updated is by joining our new Edinburgh coronavirus news Facebook group.

For the latest guidance on coronavirus from Health Protection Scotland, click here.

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