Rohini Jail inmate 1st prisoner to test positive for Covid-19 in Delhi

The 29-year-old prisoner was admitted for a surgery at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital on Sunday.

A day after a Rohini Jail inmate,who was sent to a government hospital for a routine surgery tested positive for Covid-19, as many as 19 prisoners were quarantined and tested on Thursday for the Sars-Cov-2 infection, jail officers said.

This is the first case of a prisoner in Delhi testing positive for the coronavirus disease. Officials said that all superintendents of Tihar jail, which houses around 15,000 prisoners, is already on high alert. (HT Archive/Representative Photo)

The 29-year-old prisoner was admitted for a surgery at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital on Sunday. Doctors had tested him for the virus on Monday. Jail officers said that the hospital informed the prison department on Wednesday about the inmate’s test results. The prisoner has been shifted to the Covid-19 speciality Lok Nayak hospital. Prison officials said the inmate was asymptomatic and was brought to the prison in December last year in connection with a robbery case.

Additional inspector general, Raj Kumar of Tihar prisons said, “19 prisoners in Rohini district jail, with whom he (29-year-old prisoner) was in contact during his prison stay have been tested. They did not show any symptoms but we have still isolated them as a precaution. The prisoner, who tested positive, is not a new prisoner. He was in prison for 4-5 months. Along with the 19 prisoners, some jails officials and a few doctors who had interacted with him have also been tested. The result is awaited.”

This is the first case of a prisoner in Delhi testing positive for the coronavirus disease. Officials said that all superintendents of Tihar jail, which houses around 15,000 prisoners, is already on high alert. Rohini jail is a smaller complex compared to Tihar and houses around 2,500 prisoners.

Tihar Jail officials are on high alert after reports of the disease spreading rapidly in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail. In Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail where 4,000 prisoners are lodged, within a week of one prisoner contracting the virus, the infection had affected 184 prisoners and prison staff. It also prompted the Maharashtra to look at releasing half the prisoners in its jails to contain the spread of the disease.