363 inmates of Kerala jail test Covid-19 positive, state’s tally climbs to 44K

The infections from the jail come on the day Kerala recorded 10 deaths and 1530 fresh virus cases.

At least 363 inmates of Thiruvananthapuram central jail have tested positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Sunday after a 71-year-old prisoner died of Covid-19, pushing the authorities to test all inmates. The cumulative tally of positive cases in the jail is likely to go up as 250 other inmates will undergo tests on Monday, officials said.

A man wearing a mask pedals his bicycle past a graffiti on a wall made to create awareness about the coronavirus in Kochi, Kerala. (AP)

”Most of the infected cases are asymptomatic. We have isolated them and those who have serious symptoms have been shifted to Covid hospitals,” Jail superintendent P Nirmalanandan said. Many under-trials and those nearing their term completion of sentence were freed earlier to lessen the load during pandemic outbreak, he said.

The infections from the jail come on the day Kerala recorded 10 deaths and 1530 fresh virus cases.

The mass infection at the central jail, where more than 1,000 prisoners are lodged, has worried already overworked health officials and others as the cause of the infection spread in the close quarters remains unclear.

Among the freshly recorded infections in the state, 53 are health workers, said the office of the health minister K K Shailaja. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and seven of his ministers turned negative after repeated tests but they said they will complete two-week quarantine. They opted quarantine after some of the district officers whom they had interacted at the Air India Express plane mishap site at Kozhikkode last week tested positive for Covid-19.