Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu: Four Cuddalore Central Prison inmates test positive for Covid-19 after returning from Chennai

CHENNAI: Four inmates of the Central Prison for Men, who have tested positive for Covid-19, have been shifted to an institutional quarantine facility.
Sources in the prison department said that samples were lifted from 15 inmates, who returned from the Puzhal Central Prison for Men. The samples of four of the convicts turned positive for Covid-19.
The 15 inmates had gone to Puzhal to appear for the Class X and XII board examinations.However, they were stuck in Puzhal prison after the lockdown was kicked in on March 24.
They were sent back to Cuddalore a couple of days ago.
It may be recalled that two inmates of Cuddalore prison and one of Trichy prison tested positive after they returned from Puzhal on May 23. Following this, the prison department along with the health department of the Greater Chennai Corporation tracked 216 of their primary and secondary contacts. Of them, 37 tested positive. All of them recovered.
The prison department is now puzzled over the source of infection of the new cases. “We are taking all precautionary measures to contain the new cases and are also working on new strategies to prevent the spread of the virus among the convicts further,” said a senior official.