KOCHI: Kerala had released several prisoners on parole to reduce the pressure on its jails in the time of Covid-19, yet they could not stop infection among inmates. Five of them have contracted the virus so far and to check its spread, the Prisons Department, with the support of the Health Department, has identified one Covid first line treatment centre (CFLTC) each in all districts with an aim to make it a buffer area.
Private hospitals and government hostels have been converted to CFLTCs. While the Dr Somervel CSI Medical College Hospital, Karakkonam has been converted into a 50-bed facility, the Government Polytechnic Hostel at Thottada, which has 37 beds, is the facility in Kannur.
As per the plan, the police will take the accused to the CFLTCs after producing them before the court. They will be admitted to the centres and their swab samples will be collected for RT-PCR test. Only if the results come out negative, they will be shifted to the respective prisons. If they are found positive and still asymptomatic, they will be kept at the centres and tested daily. If they start developing symptoms, they will be shifted to Covid-19 hospitals.
As of now, around 50 prisoners have been shifted to the centres, according to the Prison Department officials. On an average, 120 prisoners are brought to jails daily. Furthermore, 1,818 prisoners who were released on parole ahead of the outbreak will return next week. The CFLTCs help the authorities do screening before admitting them.
“We had decided to admit only those prisoners who tested negative to prison wards. But it was technically not practical as the police could not keep the remanded prisoners till their medical reports are ready. We approached the Health Department for help and they identified the 14 centres, ,” Prison Headquarters DIG S Santhosh said. The prisoners’, as well as the CFLTCs’ security, will be the responsibility of the Prison Department officials,” he added.
18 prison officials in Kannur and T’Puram have been placed under isolation after remand prisoners tested positive
14 Covid first-line treatment centres have been set up so far
50 prisoners have been admitted to the CFLTCs so far