Sixty-six inmates from the coronavirus-ridden California Institution for Men were on buses in late May, headed from Chino to the prison at Corcoran where Frank Estrada was incarcerated.

What they didn’t know was that “the ‘beast’ came with them,” Estrada said, alluding to the lethal virus that hitched a ride on one of the most disastrous prisoner transfers in state history.

Corcoran State Prison was coronavirus-free before the buses arrived. It now has 10 active cases of COVID-19 and one reported inmate death.

San Quentin, California’s oldest prison, took in 121 transfers from Chino and has since been ravaged by the disease. Last week, it passed the 2,000 mark in infections, and now reports 862 active cases and 13 deaths among its 3,362 inmates.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.