UP tested 70,000 prisoners for covid-19

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Aug 26, 2020

Uttar Pradesh government has conducted covid-19 sample testing on more than 70,000 prisoners lodged in different jails of the state.

The testing paced up after chief minister Yogi Adityanath issued directives to intensify efforts to curb the spread of the infection in jails and conduct testing on a war footing.

According to the state prison administration, 1,690 prisoners and 59 jail staff had so far been found to be positive after testing, and were put under medical supervision. All of them were reported to be convalescing.

To arrest the pandemic, 83 temporary jails have been established across 64 districts to lodge new inmates. They are later shifted to the permanent prisons only after they are found to be negative. However, they are kept in isolation for 14 days in the permanent jails as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, the state jails have also been producing facemasks and hand sanitiser. So far, nearly 3 million facemasks and 2,400 personal protection equipment (PPE) kits had been manufactured in these facilities, of which 14.5 million masks and 250 PPE kits were supplied to the external organisations and non-government organisations (NGO).