Mumbai: 103, Including 26 Employees, Hire Covid-19 at Arthur Road Jail

Authorities said steps are being taken to isolate those who have been in contact with these inmates and employees. (Proceedings)

A total of 103 inmates and staff at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus, Maharashtra Interior Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Thursday. These include 26 staff members.

Authorities said those who tested positive will be transferred to St George and GT Hospital on Friday morning, and have already been segregated inside the jail. Previously, an investigation and two employees had tested positive, after which another 150 were sampled in the past two days.

Better known as the Arthur Road Jail, the Central Mumbai Jail is one of the most overcrowded prisons in the country. It currently has 2,600 inmates, compared to a capacity of only 800.

Authorities said steps are being taken to isolate those who have been in contact with these inmates and employees. However, with the social distancing impossible due to overcrowding, concerns have grown about the emergence of prison as a point of infection.

Deshmukh had announced in March that 11,000 prisoners will be released from jails across the state to reduce congestion. However, the recommendations of a high-powered committee appointed as instructed
of the Supreme Court to decongest prisons have not yet been accepted and implemented. As of March, only 582 trials have been released from Arthur Road Jail.

The jail has been under full closure since April 9, it does not allow new admissions nor does it allow outside personnel to enter the facilities, given its proximity to Kasturba Hospital, the city’s main facility for the treatment of Covid-19.

The jail had stopped visits by lawyers and family members since March 18. Authorities are trying to find out how the coronavirus outbreak occurred, as the only strangers allowed in jail are civic officials for sanitation, cleaning and other health measures.

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