Nearly 1,000 staff at US immigration detention centres have COVID-19

More than 930 people working for four private companies that run detention centres for US immigration services have tested positive for coronavirus, according to executives speaking at a congressional hearing.

The four firms are CoreCivic (554 cases), the GEO Group (167 cases), Management & Training Corp (73 cases) and LaSalle Corrections (144 cases). The US immigration department has reported 45 cases among its own staff.

Lawmakers are concerned about the spread of the virus across the US's nearly 70 detention centres. More than 3,000 detainees have tested positive for the disease, and two have died. There are currently about 22,580 people in immigration custody.