Prisoners in jails across Uttar Pradesh have joined the fight against Covid-19 by making personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and face shield masks for doctors and health workers.
They are also setting up sanitising tunnels at the entrances of jails after having already made more 523,000 masks and hand sanitisers.
Anand Kumar, the director general of UP Prison Administration and Reform Services, said: “Since March 15, prisoners at 65 of the 71 jails in the state have made over five lakh masks. These masks were initially distributed among 90,000 prisoners, but later they were supplied to at least 150 government departments and wings at the cost price.”
Prisoners in 16 jails also made hand sanitisers for their own use and the surplus was supplied to other departments.
“After successfully accomplishing the two tasks, the prisoners have improvised and started preparing PPE kits, full face shield masks, especially for doctors and health workers, and full bodysuits for sanitation workers,” Kumar said.
The prisoners of Lucknow Model Jail are making PPE kits under the supervision of Rajiv Lochan, the director of Balrampur Hospital in the city.
Some 50 PPE kits and full face shield masks have been provided so far to authorities of Balrampur Hospital, Kumar said.
{{/usCountry}}Some 50 PPE kits and full face shield masks have been provided so far to authorities of Balrampur Hospital, Kumar said.
{{/usCountry}}Authorities at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital in Lucknow are in touch with various jails and supplies will be sent to the hospital as soon as the products are ready.
“It takes several hours to make PPE kits and full face shield masks under the supervision of a medical expert as these are meant for doctors and health workers,” Kumar said.
“Prisoners of Ghaziabad district jail are preparing full body suits that can be used by sanitation workers during cleaning drives in Coronavirus hotspots,” he added.
Kumar said the latest improvisation in the fight against Covid-19 was erecting sanitisation tunnels at the gates of jails. “I got the idea after seeing a similar tunnel in Andhra Pradesh. Later, I watched a few videos and derived the plan with the help of other jail officials and prisoners to prepare similar tunnels,” he said.
“The idea worked. Similar sanitisation tunnels have been set up at the entrances to 12 jails. More will be set up at other jails soon.”
The sanitisation tunnels are now in place in prisons at Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida), Ghaziabad, Agra, Meerut, Hardoi, Unnao, Kaushambi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Ayodhya, Fatehgarh, Pilibhit and Rae Bareli.
These tunnels completely sanitise a person before entry into the jail, minimising the risk of Coronavirus spreading among jail personnel and prisoners.
According to the National Centre for Disease Control’s guidelines on Covid-19, personal protective equipment (PPE) has multiple components: gown, mask or respirator, eye protection and gloves. All need to be disposed of after use in order of which one has been contaminated most.
The guidelines, however, do not say anything regarding the quality control checks on PPEs — while individual components, such as masks, can be made at home, certain other gear require stringent quality checks.
The Union health ministry released an advisory earlier this month on how to make masks at home, and who all may use such masks. Health care workers and those on the frontline of fighting the disease are advised to use PPE gear that is pre-approved by the state.