Thane jail to start COVID-19 quarantine centre at civic school for inmates

Last year, 15 inmates had caught the virus at the Thane Central Jail

To check the spread of COVID among its inmates, the Thane Central Jail will start a quarantine centre at a civic school. They will conduct RT-PCR and antigen tests on the prisoners and those testing positive will be moved to the centre for 14 days.

The prison has about 3,800 inmates, including undertrials, of which 70 have contracted the virus.

"We plan to set up a quarantine centre at Vitawa school with the help of the Thane Municipal Corporation. For this, we have already written to them," said a prison official.

An arrested person is made to undergo an antigen test. Such persons are taken to jail if they are remanded in judicial custody. In case they test positive, the cops at present send them to the Thane Civil Hospital. Depending on their condition, they will now be placed in the school.

Thane jail officials have trained educated inmates as counsellors and deployed them in all their 14 barracks. The counsellors provide mental support to the inmates and teach them good hygiene. Officials said they have started giving a highly nutritious diet and milk with turmeric to the inmates to improve their immunity.

"Oxygen saturation of the inmates are measured thrice a day and we check their temperatures two times daily. If anyone shows COVID-like symptoms, they will be sent to the quarantine centre," a prison official told mid-day. Last year, 15 prisoners had contracted the virus, the official said. Sunil Ramanand, the state's ADG (Prison) said, "We have decided that two types of centres will be set up for all the jails of the state. New inmates will be kept in one centre. The second centre will house those test positive."

3,800
No. of inmates at Thane jail