15 prisoners, a warder at Delhi jail test positive for coronavirus

NEWDELHI :Fifteen prisoners and a jail warder of Rohini jail have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Saturday. Jail officials said all 16 are asymptomatic and have been sent into quarantine.

A high alert has also been sounded in Tihar jail, where around 15,000 are lodged in different sub-jails. Rohini currently has 1,370 prisoners.

Director general (prisons) Sandeep Goel said a 29-year-old prisoner was admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital last Sunday for a surgery. He tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. The department conducted tests on 19 prisoners and five officials, who had come in contact with the first prisoner. “Their test results came on Saturday and 15 of 19 prisoners tested positive. Of the five jail officials, one tested positive. The positive inmates have been separated from othsers. They are being kept in the isolation quarantine barracks. The head warder has been sent to home quarantine. A few other jail staff have also been sent to home quarantine,” Goel said.

All 16 prisoners who have tested positive till date have been lodged in Rohini jail for more than two months.