Home57 women prisoners lodged in Tihar jail test COVID-19 positive in one month

57 women prisoners lodged in Tihar jail test COVID-19 positive in one month

At least 57 women prisoners lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail have tested COVID-19 positive in the last one month, according to prison officers.

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By CNBCTV18.com May 5, 2021, 3:58:50 PM IST (Updated)

57 women prisoners lodged in Tihar jail test COVID-19 positive in one month
At least 57 women prisoners lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail have tested COVID-19 positive in the last one month, according to prison officers.


The officers also added that the spread of the COVID-19 infections was far quicker in the least crowded female section than in the much-crowded male sub-jails, a Hindustan Times report mentioned.

According to the report, there are 253 active cases in the jail at the moment, of which 49 are in the women-only sub-jail inside the Tihar campus.

As per the newspaper, the women-only prison, sub-jail number 6, houses 444 inmates and is far less populated than the barracks meant for men. The sub-jail number 1, meant for men, has over 2,000 prisoners while others have around 1,000-1,300 inmates.

An officer confirmed on the condition of anonymity that the infection spread rapidly in jail 6 (women’s sub-jail). “

We have created a COVID-19 ward inside the women’s jail. Any woman prisoner who shows symptoms is quarantined or isolated and their health is monitored. We have oxygen cylinders too, in case of any emergency. Still, if anyone is critical, we immediately refer them to the hospital”, said the officer, the report added.

Also, of the five prisoners who died of the infection last week, one was a 41-year-old woman. She died on April 29 at GTB hospital, said the report quoting a prison officer.

There are 16 sub-jails under Tihar prisons where around 20,500 people are lodged at present.

A total of 204 men, lodged in 16 different jails in Tihar, Rohini, and Mandoli campuses in Delhi, have the infection.

Last week, the prison administration stopped sending new prisoners directly to jail number 6. Unlike male prisoners who are isolated or put in quarantine within the same complex for at least 14 days, the new female prisoners are sent to Mandoli jail for 14 days before being brought to Tihar.

As many as 12 women prisoners have tested positive on Mandoli campus, too, in the last one month. At present, there are only two active cases in the women’s cell at Mandoli.
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