95 inmates test Covid-19 positive in Uttarakhand jail, 205 in one week

The number of positive patients at the jail may go up even further since results of some samples are yet to come.

Ninety five prisoners tested Covid-19 positive in Sitarganj central jail in Uttarakhand’s US Nagar on Wednesday. With this, a total of 205 prisoners have tested positive for the virus in the last one week in the jail.

Sitarganj jail in Uttarakhand has turned into a Covid-19 hotspot.(Sourced Photo)

“95 prisoners tested Covid-19 positive on Wednesday while 35 jail inmates had tested positive on Tuesday. RT-PCR samples of all prisoners in the jail were collected after 73 prisoners tested positive here on Thursday,” said Dadhi Ram Maurya, superintendent, central jail, Sitarganj.

Sitarganj central jail is located around 55 km from US Nagar district headquarters and houses around 700 prisoners.

With the addition of these fresh cases, 205 prisoners have tested positive in a week in Sitarganj jail. This situation has arisen even when the entry and exit of outsiders, especially relatives of jail inmates, has been strictly banned in the jail premises, said Maurya.

Maurya said reports of some prisoners are yet to be received. Covid-19 positive jail inmates have been housed in a banquet hall in Rudrapur.