Covid-19: Infected inmates at Arthur Road Jail getting cured, IG prison tells Bombay HC

MUMBAI: Sunil Ramanand, inspector general (Prisons) informed the Bombay high court on Monday that Covid-19 positive inmates at Arthur Road Jail are “getting cured” with only 60 testing positive on June 5 from among the original 158 who had tested positive in the May 5 swab.
Besides, he said none of 2,082 inmates at Arthur Road jail screened last week for Covid- 19 (pulse, oxygen, temperature, etc) were found to be symptomatic.The compliance report in response to orders passed by HC last month in a PIL filed by an NGO the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Archana Rupwate said the authorities do not deem it necessary to test swabs of all the inmates as per latest guidelines by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The report said swabs of 234 inmates of Arthur Road jail were taken on May 5 and 7, of these 158 were found positive. On May 20, swabs of 220 inmates including 158 inmates who had tested positive, were taken and tested, of these 96 were found positive. Thereafter, on June 5, swabs of 91 were taken and tested, and 60 of those had tested positive.
The “infected inmates were getting cured due to unceasing efforts of the prison department and medical authorities,” said the report.