All 20 jail cases traced to asymptomatic officers

A string of measures — ban on biweekly visits from family members, segregation of new inmates to an isolated jail for the first 14 days and holding court proceedings through video conference from within the prison — has not been able to prevent the Covid-19 virus from creeping in to all three jail complexes in Delhi — Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli.

Till Monday evening, the three complexes, which house a total of 14,000 prisoners and around 1,800 jail officers, had reported 20 cases among prisoners and staffers.senior prison officers said contact tracing so far has revealed that in all the three jails, the virus reached the prison through asymptomatic jail officers. 17 families living in separate flats at the Tihar residential complex, located behind the jail, have been told to go into self isolation for 14 days.

“In at least 17 flats, the officers are in self-isolation. Around 60 people in those flats are in home isolation. The officials in Tihar and Rohini jail, who were infected with the virus, were both residents of Tihar quarters. Only the Mandoli deputy superintendent, who tested positive lived somewhere else,” said a prison officer, requesting anonymity. Prison officers also said that barring the case of the Mandoli officer, all the cases were asymptomatic. The officials fear that many more inside the prison may be infected with the virus and have ordered all jail superintendents to ensure that both prisoners and jail officers follow social distancing norms strictly.

“At Rohini jail, we came to know that a 29-year-old prisoner had been infected with the virus after he was rushed to a hospital for surgery. By the time we were informed by the hospital, 15 inmates and one head warder had already contracted the disease. All 15 prisoners were behind bars since the lockdown. They had no interaction with anyone outside. The head warder lived in Sonipat, which is a hot spot. Later, another assistant superintendent of Rohini jail, who too lived in the Tihar residential complex, tested positive. The Tihar official, who tested positive on Sunday, is also a resident of the same complex. All the infected prisoners have been behind bars since the lockdown. The transmission has happened through asymptomatic jail officers,” said a second prison officer.

Until Monday afternoon, Delhi had reported 14,053 cases of Covid-19, and 276 deaths. At least 6,771 people had recovered and been discharged from hospitals, the Delhi government’s daily health bulletin showed.

To prevent the spread of the virus, around 3,000 inmates have been released on interim bail and parole. All new prisoners are being kept in isolation at jail number 2 for 14 days, before being shifted to other jails. The biweekly family visit of all prisoners were suspended in March. They are, however, in touch with their families through the prison’s landline phones.

The prisons’ inspector general, Raj Kumar, said many officers living in flats inside the residential complex were told to selfisolate. Dr Puneet Mishra, professor of community medicine at AIIMS said it is important to take more precautions in a prison, where inmates share space. “The government is decongesting the prison. Transmission through asymptomatic officers is a possibility if the infected prisoners were not new or were locked all these months. It is important to conduct periodic surveillance of all prisoners if cases have started showing inside the prisons. I am not sure how much of it is possible in a prison, where space is confined, but the prisoners must be advised to maintain social distancing, wash their hands several times, use masks and take all other precautions.”

As temperatures soaring in the national capital, the peak power demand in Delhi touched 5,268mw on Sunday evening — the highest so far for the season.

An analysis of government data also showed that Delhi’s power demand increased by over 31% since lockdown curbs were relaxed on May 18 but the daily average demand was 11% lower than what was recorded during the same week last year. Officials in the power department attributed this to a spike in the use of air-conditioners.

“The highest power demand for this season was 5,268mw, recorded at 11.10pm on Sunday. With the forecast of a heatwave, the demand is going to increase further in the coming days. The main factor behind the increase in demand is the cooling load. Power consumption has increased substantially at night due to the increase in air-conditioner use,” a senior official in the power department said. According to government data, around 50% of Delhi’s power demand in summers is due to the use ACS, coolers and fans.

Parts of the city have been experiencing heatwave-like conditions since May 22, with the maximum temperature in Palam, Aya Nagar and Lodi Road often touching the 45°C mark. On Monday, the maximum temperature recorded at Safdarjung,

considered the official recording of the city, was 44°C, four notches above the season’s normal. In Palam, the mercury rose to 46.2°C, so far the highest temperature recorded in the observatory this season.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast that the heatwave is likely to continue till May 27.

Data shows that over the past week, electricity consumption peaked in the city at night on most days. This, however, was not the case during the same period last year.

“This is an indicator that even though the daytime consumption has seen a spurt, it is still not more than consumption at night. It means industries, offices and other commercial connections are yet to be fully operational in the city. The demand peaking at night reflects that domestic consumption is much higher. Otherwise, in this heat, all offices and commercial units would have been using ACS during the day,” a discom official said.

Under the Delhi government’s revised lockdown rules, while shops are allowed to open in an ‘odd-even’ sequence, they must shut by 7pm every day. Offices and industries too have been allowed to operate at full strength, provided their workers are based in Delhi. Meanwhile, malls, bars, pubs, and restaurants across the Capital are still shut.

Delhi has effectively been under lockdown, in phases, from March 22.