COVID-19 cases in Indore Central Jail rise to 19

Nine more prisoners lodged at the Central Jail in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city have tested positive for coronavirus, an official said on Tuesday.

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With this, the total number of those who contracted the infection in the jail in last 14 days has gone up to 19, including 17 prisoners and two jail guards, prison superintendent Rakesh Kumar Bhangre said.

"Out of the 124 prisoners, who were already kept at a temporary jail located far from the Central Jail campus after they showed symptoms similar to coronavirus, nine have tested positive for the disease," he said.

Prior to this, eight prisoners and two jail guards tested positive for the infection in the last fortnight, the official said.

Authorities suspect that the infection spread in the jail from a 58-year-old prisoner, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 14 after his arrest, the official said.

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The prisoner and his 25-year-old son allegedly hurled stones at a policeman in Chandan Nagar locality here on April 7. The son was booked under the National Security Act (NSA) and sent to the Jabalpur central jail where he tested positive for coronavirus on April 11, Bhangre said.

On getting information about his son, the 58-year-old prisoner was immediately admitted to a hospital in Indore where his test report came out positive for coronavirus on April 14, he added.

Nearly 2,050 prisoners are lodged in the Indore central jail as against its capacity of 1,230, another prison official said.

"We are screening all the prisoners daily. Those having flu-like symptoms or fever are being quarantined," he added.