J&K: 92 inmates test positive for COVID-19 in two prisons
Ninety-two inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 in two prisons of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Monday and asserted that all the positive cases are asymptomatic and have been isolated in separate barracks. The latest detection in Udhampur and Kupwara district jails through special Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) screening pushed the number of active cases among inmates, the officials said.
Special drive was carried out after Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai died
Notably, there are 115 active cases out of a total of over 4,570 prisoners in all the jails. The special drive in the two jails was carried out nearly two weeks after a separatist leader and chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, who was lodged in Udhampur district jail under the Public Safety Act, died of COVID-19 at a government hospital on May 5.
Udhampur district jail had most cases
Officials said 72 prisoners and seven staff members tested positive in Udhampur district jail. A total of 479 inmates were subjected to RAT testing in the jail premises, they said, adding that 20 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 among 272 prisoners in Kupwara district jail. Officials said all the positive prisoners are asymptomatic and were lodged in separate barracks.
Two elderly prisoners died due to the virus last year
Last year, two elderly prisoners -- one each in district jail Rajouri and Sub-jail Bhaderwah - succumbed to the virus, while the rest of the 540 infected prisoners recovered after successful treatment. Earlier, 21 prisoners tested positive in Kathua district jail on May 10, while one inmate each was tested positive in district jail Jammu and central jail Kotbhalwal Jammu a few days earlier.
