BERHAMPUR: The Berhampur Circle jail is reeling under a massive outbreak of Covid-19 with at least 35 more prisoners and nine staff testing positive on Wednesday. All the infected persons have been kept in isolation on the jail premises as the administration is yet to take any decision on shifting such a large number of prisoners to the Covid hospital.
Sources said several inmates of the jail were suffering from flu and fever since the last week. On July 18, a health team reached the jail and collected swab samples of around 50 persons including the prisoners. Of them, 44 were found Covid-19 positive on the day.
Once the news spread, panic gripped inmates and employees of the overcrowded jail. Sources said the administration is in a fix over shifting so many prisoners to a Covid facility.Jail DIG RN Majhi said immediate steps are needed to contain the virus spread inside the prison. The health administration has assured to send a medical team to the jail at the earliest, he added.
Around 22 prisoners and two staff of the jail tested positive last month and were accommodated in Sitalapalli Covid hospital.However, two of the prisoners escaped during treatment at the hospital and are yet to be traced.Another 100 prisoners of the jail are suffering from fever and flu. After detection of the new positive cases, they have urged the administration to shift them to a hospital or release them on bail.