With 58 cases, coronavirus spreads in Punjab prisons

LAHORE: The number of coronavirus patients in Punjab prisons has gone up to 58 while 858 inmates suspected of the infectious disease have been kept in more than 300 quarantine cells in seven different jails of the province, confirm official documents available with Arab News.
“The number of prisoners who have tested positive for COVID-19 has increased in our jails,” said the spokesperson for the Punjab Prisons Department, Khawaja Amir, while talking to Arab News on Wednesday. “At the moment, there are 58 confirmed coronavirus patients in our jails in Punjab, including two officials.”
“We are carrying out a screening process our prisons,” he continued. “This is done by testing every fifth inmate randomly.”
Abid Hussain, the first prisoner who tested positive last month, had returned from Italy and was arrested on drug charges. He was taken to the Camp Jail Lahore which has about 3,500 prisoners.
According to official records, there are 48,794 prisoners in Punjab’s 43 jails. Among these individuals, 858 are suspected cases, says an official communiqué, and have been placed in various quarantine units.
“There are 64 suspected prisoners in 26 quarantine cells of Central Jail Lahore; 67 suspected prisoners in 16 quarantine cells of Central Jail Gujranwala; 65 suspected prisoners in 31 quarantine cells of district Jail Kasur; 516 suspected prisoners in 213 quarantine cells of District Jail Lahore; 112 suspected prisoners in 34 quarantine cells of District Jail Sialkot; 34 suspected prisoners in 16 quarantine cells of District Jail Narowal; while no prisoner has been quarantined in any of the 25 cells of District Jail Shaikhupura,” the document reveals.
The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights recently urged all countries to take immediate action to reduce the number of inmates in various detention facilities.
While the authorities in Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad decided to do that by releasing under-trial petty criminals on bail, the Supreme Court nullified the initiative.
Under the circumstances, the jail authorities say they are taking all possible measures to save the lives of prisoners and keep them away from the disease.
“We are taking maximum care of inmates,” Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig, IG Punjab Prisons, told Arab News. “Quarantine centers have been set up in jails. A hospital with 100 beds has also been made functional at Camp Jail Lahore to treat coronavirus patients.”