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68% of inmates at Barmer district jail test positive for Covid-19
Barmer’s chief medical and health officer Dr Kamlesh Choudhary said that 130 inmates of the jail are positive for coronavirus disease. He said the screening of inmates started on Monday.
After Jaipur and Pratapgarh jails, the district jail of Barmer has emerged as the new hotspot of Covid-19 cases after 126 inmates tested positive on Wednesday. Four inmates tested positive on Sunday. The jail has a total of 192 inmates, 68 percent of them have contracted the infection.
Barmer’s chief medical and health officer Dr Kamlesh Choudhary said that 130 inmates of the jail are positive for coronavirus disease. He said the screening of inmates started on Monday.
“The department collected 190 samples from the jail. We are suspecting that the infection has spread from four prisoners who tested positive on Sunday,” Dr Choudhary said.
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Considering the large number of Covid-19 cases, the medical department started a new Covid Care Center in the jail on Wednesday.
“Earlier, the four inmates were moved to the care center outside the jail but now we cannot move such a large number of inmates, so we have started a Covid Care Center in the jail itself. It has all the required medical facilities,” said Dr Choudhary.
There are total 192 inmates in Barmer district jail, 62 of them are negative for Covid-19. The jail superintendent has written to the prisons department headquarters in Jaipur to move other inmates to Jaisalmer district jail. Twenty inmates have already been moved.
Jails in Rajasthan have also been affected by the pandemic. The first Covid-19 case in prisons was reported on May 11 when a 29-year-old man lodged in Jaipur district jail tested positive. After that, the prisons department made elaborate arrangements to keep the spread in check.
Director-general (prisons) BL Soni said that the wards and barracks have been sanitized several times. Sheets and clothes are changed at regular intervals.
“The inmates are been given a special diet like dal, vitamin C-rich fruits, rice to increase their immunity. Those who can eat non-veg are given eggs thrice a day besides their regular diet. Health teams visit wards on a regular basis,” he said. He said the department will award appreciation shields to staff working at Covid Care Centers in prisons across the state.
