NEW DELHI: Bursting at the seams, Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli prisons are ticking Covid time-bombs as only 39 per cent of the inmates were fully vaccinated till December 31, 2021, as per the vaccination data available. The three prisons house 18,000 inmates, way above the capacity of 10,000.
What makes the scenario scary is that the third wave is sparing none in the three prisons, both inmates and prison staff have been infected by the virus in the last month. “In the three prisons, as many as 15,452 inmates have got their first dose while a total of 7,168 inmates have been administered with both the doses till December 31,” Director Prisons, Sandeep Goel said. “As of January 19, we have total 60 inmates who are Covid positive while 63 have recovered. Meanwhile, among the prison staff, we have 71 Covid cases while 52 have recovered.”
Sensing the gravity of the situation, the prison department has taken a slew of measures including Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) of all inmates, quarantine of new prisoners, isolation of those showing symptoms of
Influenza-Like Illness (ILI).
“Proper contact tracing in case of positive detected inmates or staff, medical staff, maintenance staff, etc., movement restriction of inmates within their wards, creation of medical isolation cells in each jail, round-the-clock availability of doctors are some measures taken to ensure inmates and staff follow Covid appropriate behaviour,” the DG said.
Meanwhile, a hospital in Tihar and another in Mandoli have been designated as Covid health centres, while jail dispensaries of all 16 jails of the three prisons have been designated as Covid care centres.
Recently, the Delhi government installed an oxygen plant in Tihar prison (Jail No. 3). Goel said although the plant was functional, none of the patients in the jail hospitals have required oxygen so far.
Other measures taken in jails
Covid cases till January 19
Prison inmates: 123
Prison staff: 123