13 new Covid cases in Delhi prisons

Four inmates and nine jail staffers in the three jail complexes of the capital have tested positive for Covid-19 the previous week, said officials Sunday.

The three jails, Mandoli, Tihar and Rohini, had earlier been declared Covid-free, but a few cases have emerged since last month. The number of active cases in the three jails is presently 13. All infected persons have been isolated and are being treated inside the jail complexes. DG (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said 88 inmates have tested positive in the three jails so far. Goel himself had tested positive, but has recovered and will rejoin work this week.

“In May, we had made special barracks for infected people and started testing inmates regularly. There are four active cases among the inmates. Over 82 inmates have recovered and two died,” said Goel. Over 10,000 inmates are lodged in the jails now. After the lockdown, 4,491 inmates were either given interim bail or emergency parole to decongest the jails. Goel said over 215 staffers had tested positive, of whom 206 have recovered so far.