US: 276 inmates in Chicago jail infected with COVID-19

The number of inmates infected with coronavirus at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois rose to 276 on Friday as 25 more detainees tested positive.

Of all the prisoners, 21 have been hospitalized, 36 moved to a recovery facility, while has one died of "apparent" complications, the CNN quoted the County Sheriff's Office as saying.

Meanwhile, at least 172 employees of the county office have also tested positive, a majority of which were working as correctional deputies at the jail.

The office said it will continue to reduce the jail population, and since March 9, 1,247 detainees have been released.

A federal judge, however, denied a motion to order the immediate release of medically vulnerable detainees to prevent the spread of the virus.

According to Sheriff Thomas Dart, a mobile testing facility with a capacity of 100 tests a day will be set up at the jail premises.

Jail officials said that all inmates had been placed into single cells as part of social distancing measures, adding that 500 beds were available for quarantine and care facilities for the convicts.

After announcing its first infection late March, the federal Bureau of Prisons had 284 infected inmates and eight deaths as of Thursday morning.

Spread of coronavirus in U.S. jails continues in California, Texas and Kansas as well.

Nearly 500 virus deaths have been recorded in Illinois so far.

The U.S. has the highest number of confirmed cases worldwide -- almost 466,300, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Nearly 17,000 fatalities have been recorded, while more than 26,500 people recovered.

Overall, the virus has spread to 185 countries, infecting over 1.6 million people since it first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.