At least 40 people, including undertrial prisoners and jail officials, tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the Mumbai Central Prison on Thursday, according to a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who did not want to be named.
The fresh infections were reported a day after a 45-year-old inmate, facing charges under the narcotics act, tested positive for the disease. The Arthur Road jail, which has a capacity of 800, is housing about 2,700 prisoners.
After the inmate tested positive, JJ Hospital authorities took swab samples of 150 people from the prison, also known as Arthur Road prison . “More swabs are being currently taken from Arthur Road prison,” said the IPS officer, requesting anonymity.
The 45-year-old inmate suffered a paralytic attack on May 2 and was taken to JJ Hospital. He had intermittent high fever since April 30. The patient was admitted on May 2. A swab test was done and his samples tested positive.
On Tuesday, two jail staff, who were staying at a guest house near Byculla jail, tested positive.
Jail authorities are yet to find out how the Sars-CoV-2 virus — which causes Covid-19 — entered the jail premises despite no new prisoners coming in since the first week of April.
“The possibility of Covid-19 having entered the prison through BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) cleaning staff, sanitisation workers, or through essential services that used to come to jail cannot be ruled out,” said the officer.
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