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GEORGE TOWN: More than 2,000 inmates at Penang Pretrial Prison are currently undergoing tests for Covid-19 after seven inmates, including one posthumously, tested positive for the virus.
However, authorities say the situation is under control.
The prison director, Mohamed Jusoh Ismail, said that all prison staff and inmates who were close contacts with the deceased had been quarantined and isolated from other employees and inmates.
“I cannot reveal the number of people who are isolated, but I can assure the public that the close contacts of the dead prisoner are in quarantine and are being examined by the personnel of the Ministry of Health for the presence of Covid-19,” he said. to Bernama.
As of Tuesday, six more inmates had tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to seven.
An 85-year-old prisoner tested positive for Covid-19 after his death on Monday.
A prison director found him unconscious and was later taken to the Penang Hospital emergency department.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the Covid-19 outbreak in the prison was under control and in the early stages.
He said that all relevant parties had taken swift action to stop the spread of the infection.
“The experiences of other states involving such an outbreak will be used as a reference to handle the case in Penang,” he said after a meeting with the state executive council yesterday.
Chow noted that the state Department of Prisons had written to the courts here to inform them that trials and pretrial detention cases involving its inmates would be postponed until further notice.
He also urged Penang residents to continue to adhere to standard operating procedure to mitigate the Covid-19 threat.
Earlier yesterday, hospital doctors were seen arriving at the prison on Jail Road as early as 9 a.m., carrying what looked like boxes containing Covid-19 test kits.
Among them was the state health director, Dr. Asmayani Khalib.
Penang Bar Chairman Lee Guan Tong said that according to the information received, the deceased prisoner last appeared in court on September 9, while several lawyers urged that the court rooms be sanitized.
Datuk Baljit Singh said there was a need to step up security measures in public places such as courts and hospitals visited by inmates.
“We need to know when those prisoners were brought to court, in which rooms they were found and who was present in the room during the same period.
“Courtrooms must be disinfected and attorneys representing those who tested positive must be quarantined,” he said.
S. Raveentharan said he was concerned that his parents, 80 and 93, live with him.
“I don’t have clients from the state remand prison, but I appear in court almost daily,” he said.
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