Inmates Hoping for Early Release Are Trying to Get Infected With COVID-19

Inmates at a Los Angeles County jail deliberately tried to infect themselves with COVID-19 in the hopes of getting an early release, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Monday. Surveillance video released by the Sheriff's Office appears to show men at Pitchess Detention Center-North County Correctional Facility passing around a mask allegedly contaminated with the virus. Twenty-one men tested positive for the virus within a week of the incident, but the diagnosis is unlikely to result in any of their releases.