Punjab government screens prisoners for coronavirus

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Wednesday started screening prisoners across the province for coronavirus infection after an inmate of Lahore’s Camp Jail was diagnosed with the infectious respiratory illness on Tuesday.
“The government will set up a 100-bed facility for prisoners suffering from coronavirus at the Camp Jail. The process of screening all inmates has also started,” Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said while talking to the media after chairing a cabinet sub-committee meeting on the virus on Wednesday.
“An under-trial prisoner, Abid Hussain, was complaining of health issues and was shifted to the hospital at the prison facility. Owing to his bad condition, he was later taken to the Services Hospital where the COVID-19 test was conducted and the result came positive,” Camp Jail Superintendent Asad Warraich told Arab News.
Hussain was recently arrested at the Lahore airport on charges of smuggling narcotics after he arrived from Italy. He was taken to the jail on March 18, 2020, where he complained of chest pain three days later and was brought to the Services Hospital.
After testing positive for coronavirus, he was shifted to the Mayo Hospital where a special ward has been set up for such patients
“He has been kept in the hospital’s quarantine facility, and his health condition is stable,” Dr. Tahir Khalil, Medical Superintendent, Mayo Hospital told Arab News.
The jail authorities have also sent the blood samples of four prisoners and one policeman for examination since these people were in contact with Hussain.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has decided to release the prisoners involved in minor offenses to reduce the number of jail inmates in the province.
“The department has moved a summary that, on approval, will help release 3,500 prisoners from various jails across the province of Punjab,” Chief Minister Buzdar said.
According to the Punjab Prison Department, there are 43 jails in the province in which 48,794 prisoners reside. Among the occupants of these detention facilities, 47,913 are male while 881 are female prisoners.
The number of coronavirus patients is gradually increasing in Punjab. According to the official tally on Wednesday, the number of diagnosed coronavirus patients stood at 310 in the province and 77 only in the city of Lahore.