Indigenous inmates testing positive for COVID-19 at higher rates in federal prisons – Global News

January 14, 2022

Indigenous federal inmates are infected with COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates.

Correctional Service Canada said Wednesday that as of Jan. 10, there are 207 active COVID-19 cases among inmates in federal penitentiaries.

Of those cases, 39 are among inmates who identify as Indigenous, which makes up almost 19 per cent of the overall caseload.

Indigenous Peoples make up five per cent of Canada’s population but accounted for just under one-third of the country’s federal prison population as of January 2020, which Canada’s correctional investigator said at the time had reached a historic high.

Read More: https://globalnews.ca/news/8510687/covid-prisons-indigenous-inmates/