Berhampur: Forty six undertrial prisoners in Berhampur Circle Jail located at Lanjipalli Square in this town have tested positive for COVID-19, sources informed Friday.
According to a source, swab samples of 84 inmates were collected and sent for RT-PCR testing a couple of days ago after a person serving life term tested positive. When reports came, 46 of them were found positive.
The infected prisoners have been kept in isolation and are being treated at a 100-bed dedicated Covid-19 health centre (DCHC) which was recently set up on the jail premises, informed a prison official.
However, the detection of a large number of COVID-19 cases has triggered fear among officials, staff and other inmates.
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“We have made arrangements for shifting the prisoners by ambulance to other hospitals, in case their health condition deteriorates in the future. Doctors of DCHC and from different other hospitals are treating the patients, the jail superintendent said.
The prisoner who first tested positive is now undergoing treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here as he is in a critical condition, the jail superintendent informed.
PNN