Over 1300 prisoners in Andhra Pradesh jails have contracted COVID-19 so far
Amaravati: A total of 1,375 prisoners in various jails in Andhra Pradesh have contracted the coronavirus infection so far and only one of them has succumbed, Director General of Prisons Mohd Ahsan Reza said on Thursday.
Five of the Covid-19 positive prisoners escaped from custody while undergoing treatment in hospitals and hunt was on to nab them, he told PTI.
Of those infected, 380 had fully recovered, leaving 873 active cases in various jails across the state.
"Another 116 inmates, who tested positive, were enlarged on bail," the DG said.
Inmates who tested positive for coronavirus were being treated in the respective jails only.
"Majority of the cases are only asymptomatic and we have created required facilities for the treatment. We are isolating the patients and ensuring proper medicare, even administering costly injections with the help of the local administration," the DG said.
Among the staff in 41 prisons, including four Central Jails, in the state, 241 tested positive for Covid-19 and four died.
Of the 241, 95 were cured and 142 were active cases.
"The casualties were more among our staff than the prisoners. The lone prisoner who died was also on dialysis," Reza pointed out.
After the outbreak of coronavirus in March, the Department of Prisons released 430 prisoners on interim bail and over 2,100 on regular bail to avoid congestion in the cramped jails.
It also banned the regular mulaakats (meeting of inmates with their kin and lawyers) to prevent the infection.
"We released a lot of inmates on bail and the restrictions put in place helped prevent the spread of the pandemic in prisons. We also did not have fresh intake and that also helped," the DG said.
However, with an increasing number of arrests made by the newly formed Special Enforcement Bureau mostly in liquor cases, the fresh intake had to be renewed.
"The influx of new inmates possibly led to the spread of infection. The Central Jails in Kadapa, Rajamahendravaram and Nellore saw a major caseload," the DG said.
The Department of Prisons has been organizing weekly tests in all jails for the staff as well as inmates.
"We have so far completed at least 20 rounds of testing. Besides good food, we are now providing dry fruits and chicken diet to the inmates to keep them healthy and ensure the infection is contained," Ahsan Reza added.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
