With people being alerted to check the spread of coronavirus across the country, senior officials in Prisons department have also taken special steps to prevent the virus from sneaking into the jails.
On Thursday, the prison officials sent requests to courts to conduct remand proceedings and imperative trials through video-conferencing and minimise physical presence of inmates in courts.
“In case the suggestion is not feasible, requests for deferment of dates of trial have been made to district judges of all districts,” the officials said.
Besides, instructions have been given to restrict the entry of visitors to meet their kin lodged in jails and thermal screening of inmates and visitors has been started in some prisons.
Officials said that the department had taken a slew of measures on war footing to forestall the spread of Covid-19 in jails.
A special task force has been set up in all 71 operational jails and daily situation report is being monitored at Prison headquarters in Lucknow.
“Isolation centres and quarantine cells have been set up to prevent the pandemic and every new inmate with suspicious symptoms will be quarantined for 10 days. Older inmates of jails with any symptom of Covid-19 will be sent to isolation cells in jail hospital,” an official said.
Besides, tests and reference for confirmatory tests will be done on the advice of jail doctor. Inmates have been provided with adequate soap/ handwash/sanitisers and masks are being stitched in-house. Twenty-one jails so far have sewn and distributed 15,000 masks to inmates and jail staff.