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At least 224 inmates of Bihar’s Araria district jail test positive for Covid-19

Hindustan Times, Araria | ByAditya Nath Jha
Aug 13, 2020 06:30 PM IST

Araria district jail’s staff and the rest of the prisoners would also undergo Covid-19 tests and the prison premises would be sanitised, the jailor said.

At least 224 inmates of Bihar’s Araria district jail have tested coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive, as authorities concede that the viral outbreak has gone out of control.

A medical worker, wears a pair of sunglasses as part of his personal protective equipment (PPE) as he gets ready to transfer Cpvid-19 patient from the emergency ward to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Bhagalpur, Bihar.(Reuters File Photo)
A medical worker, wears a pair of sunglasses as part of his personal protective equipment (PPE) as he gets ready to transfer Cpvid-19 patient from the emergency ward to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Bhagalpur, Bihar.(Reuters File Photo)

The prisoners were found to be infected after they underwent rapid antigen detection (RAD) tests for SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, within the jail premises over the past two days, the officials said.

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Araria district jail houses 706 inmates, of whom 600 underwent RAD tests in the past two days.

The jail authorities are worried over the mass viral infection of the inmates.

“RAD tests were conducted on the inmates on Tuesday and Wednesday and 42 and 182 tested Covid-19 positive, respectively,” said Dr MP Singh, civil surgeon, Araria district.

Jailor Pramod Das said that the contagion has led the prison authorities to make alternative arrangements for new inmates.

New male and female prisoners are being sent to Purnea Central Jail and Dalsinghsarai Jail in Samastipur district, respectively, Das said.

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Araria district jail’s staff and the rest of the prisoners would also undergo Covid-19 tests and the prison premises would be sanitised, the jailor added.

Araria district authorities are at their wits’ end over the spike in Covid-19 cases amid the healthcare infrastructure woes.

A senior doctor posted at Araria Sadar Hospital said that the bid to tackle the viral outbreak “has gone out of hand” as “the district is staring at a tough time in the days of come”.

The district has reported 1,374 Covid-19 cases until Wednesday, included 616 active ones.

In Bihar’s Seemanchal, comprising four districts – Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria – over 10,000 Covid-19 cases have been reported to date, including 3,000 active ones.

In Bihar, an estimated 40,000 inmates are lodged in eight central jails, 32 district jails and 18 sub-jails against a sanctioned capacity of 45,000.

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