VIJAYAWADA: With more prisoners testing positive for coronavirus, the State government has decided to allocate 13 special jails, where new male prisoners will be admitted only after their samples are tested. According to a government order released on Tuesday, Director General (DG) of Prisons and Correctional Services brought the instances of inmates testing positive for COVID-19 to the government’s notice and sought its immediate intervention.
Following the request, the government issued the GO designating one special jail in each district for admission of new male prisoners. In the GO, officials concerned were instructed that the prisoners assigned to the ‘special jails’ be subjected to Covid- 19 testing and other sanitisation protocol prescribed by the government. “Also, the staff working there can be provided with specialised protective equipment as prescribed by the government for minimising the risk of contracting the virus,” the GO read further.
Meanwhile, the DG instructed the officials to boost security to ensure that no convict escapes from the jails. Those who test positive will be shifted immediately to Covid-19 hospitals. The government further requested the Health & Family Welfare Department to depute medical officers and other paramedical staff for conducting tests on prisoners.