New Delhi: The deputy superintendent of the Mandoli Jail in northeast Delhi has tested positive for coronavirus, officials said Thursday. This has created panic among police personnel and inmates of Mandoli Jail.
“The officer was on leave since May 11 as he had fever. He got himself tested for COVID-19 at Ganga Ram Hospital and the report came positive Wednesday,” a senior jail official said.
The deputy superintendent lives in Sarai Rohilla and is currently under home quarantine. Contact tracing revealed that two jail staff and two inmates had come in contact with the official, informed the official.
The two inmates have been shifted to isolation cells while two other jail staffs have been home quarantined. They are all asymptomatic and their medical condition will be watched, added the official.
Authorities became extra cautious after reports of infection were reported from Rohini Jail.
Earlier, the assistant superintendent of Rohini Jail had tested positive for COVID-19, days after 15 inmates and a jail staff from the prison contracted the disease.
Delhi has three prisons, Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli, and a standard operating procedure (SOP) is being followed inside all the jails. A new inmate first goes through thermal checking which is then followed by a routine medical checkup. After keeping them in isolation of 14 days, they are then shifted to barracks, according to jail authorities.
Wearing masks is compulsory for inmates, frequent medical screening is being done and ‘mulaqat’ with family and court productions have also been suspended as of now.
The jail authorities said they are conducting medical screenings of all inmates frequently and at a faster pace. They have been strictly advised not to hide that they are unwell and should report to doctor immediately.
The jail staff and doctors have been educating inmates about the novel coronavirus and the precautionary measures to be taken to contain its spread.
In case someone falls sick, a doctor checks his or her health condition. The doctor then decides if the person needs to be kept in medical isolation, which is available in each barrack. The doctor can also decided the inmate to a jail dispensary from where health condition is monitored regularly.
PTI
