COVID-19 Outbreak in a Large Penitentiary Complex, April-June 2020, Brazil.

Fernando A Gouvea-Reis,Wallace Dos Santos,Patrícia D Oliveira,Lairton S Borja,Danniely C.S Silva,Cássio Peterka,Janaína De Oliveira,Giselle Sodré,Camile De Moraes,Claudia Feres,Fábio S Souza,Jadher Percio

doi:10.3201/eid2703.204079

Abstract

An outbreak of coronavirus disease began in a large penitentiary complex in Brazil on April 1, 2020. By June 12, there were 1,057 confirmed cases among inmates and staff. Nine patients were hospitalized, and 3 died. Mean serial interval was ≈2.5 days; reproduction number range was 1.0–2.3.

Highlights

The first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Brazil was reported on February 26, 2020
Testing in Brasília, located in Brazil’s Federal District, accounted for 65.5% of all COVID-19 tests performed among imprisoned persons; ≈48% of the total national cases in prisons were reported in a maximum-security penitentiary complex in Brasília
We estimated the serial interval by computing the difference between the dates of symptom onset for pairs of primary and secondary infected inmates in 144 cases confirmed by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) recorded in April, during the early stages of the outbreak, within all 4 prison units

Summary

Introduction

The first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Brazil was reported on February 26, 2020. By June 12, Brazil had reported 828,810 COVID-19 cases nationwide, with >2,200 of those within prison settings [6,7]. Testing in Brasília, located in Brazil’s Federal District, accounted for 65.5% of all COVID-19 tests performed among imprisoned persons; ≈48% of the total national cases in prisons were reported in a maximum-security penitentiary complex in Brasília.

Results

Conclusion