Bhondsi Jail warder tests Covid-19 positive, cases in Gurugram touch 37

The head warder of Bhondsi jail tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, taking the total tally of persons infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the district to 37.

The head warder of Bhondsi jail tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, taking the total tally of persons infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the district to 37.

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At least 2,380 inmates lodged in the jail will now be screened and the samples of 18 staff who were in contact with the warder has been collected. Six others have been put under home quarantine. Officials say that the warder was deployed outside the barracks and had not been in close contact with any of the inmates.

Jai Kishan Chillar, superintendent of Bhondsi jail, said the 40-year-old warder was on leave for the last one week. “The warder took emergency leave for three days to meet his wife in Bhiwani, who was unwell. He was on leave from April 10 and was to return on duty on April 13. He extended his leave by three days and returned on April 16. We followed the Covid-19 protocol, which states that anyone who goes out of the jail premises has to get tested for the virus before resuming duty. He had no visible symptoms but we asked the warder to get tested for Covid-19 at sector 10 Civil Hospital. He was admitted to the quarantine after giving his samples. He tested positive on Sunday. Later in the day, his wife too tested positive.”

Gurugram is a ‘red zone’ for having a large number of Covid-19 positive cases, along with Nuh (57 cases), Palwal (34), and Faridabad (42). To prevent contamination, the jail premises and all the barracks have been sanitized by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram ( MCG).

The medical teams have also started the screening of all the inmates to check for influenza-like illness. Dr Jaswant Singh Punia, Gurugram chief medical officer, said, “The warder is undergoing treatment in Civil Hospital. Eighteen samples of his close contacts have been taken. All the people who met him, including a man who drove him on a motorcycle to Civil Hospital for getting tested, have been placed under quarantine. Our teams will be screening staff and inmates with the help of the medical team of Bhondsi jail.”

Following the state jail department’s instructions, Bhondsi Jail officials on March 21 converted one of its barracks into a quarantine cell for new inmates who are to be kept there for 14 days before being transferred to their barracks. Chillar said that 80 inmates have come to Bhondsi Jail in the last one week and they have been shifted to the quarantine cell after medical tests. A separate quarantine room for jail staff has also been set up.

Chillar said the meeting of inmates with their family members has also been cancelled till further orders and no outsider is allowed on the jail premises. “We have suspended visitations as the inmates live in close proximity and can be a threat to others. We are taking all precautionary measures and have directed the inmates to use the two landline service to make calls and to connect with their friends and family members till May 3,” he said.

“Each inmate was has been given two cotton masks and has been directed to use them once out of their barracks. We have placed sanitisers at the entrance of each barrack and no one is allowed to enter without using it. The staff at the gate has been asked to monitor the temperature of all people entering the premises with a non-contact infrared temperature measurement gun twice a day,” Chillar, said.

Jail inmates have also been refrained from gathering in large groups. All activities — such as yoga, music and other classes — have been suspended at the jail. The inmates, however, have been involved in the task of stitching cotton masks. Till now, they have made more than 45,650 masks — the largest number of masks stitched by jail inmates across the state.

Till now, 37 Covid-19 cases have been reported in Gurugram. On Saturday, four cases have been reported from Sohna. Of these 37, two patients are from Agra, two from Sector 54, five from Pataudi, 10 from Sohna, who are Tablighi Jamaat attendees. Punia said, nine Jamaat attendees from Sohna were confirmed Covid-19 negative on Sunday after undergoing treatment in civil hospital.