Prisons providing lemon juice & homoeopathic medicines to boost immunity of inmates

New Delhi: Frequent medical screening of all inmates, introducing immunity-boosting fruits in their diet and spreading awareness about the importance of personal hygiene are some of the steps taken by the Delhi Prisons Department to contain the spread of COVID-19 among prisoners, jail officials said on Sunday.

The first case of coronavirus was reported in Rohini Jail on May 13. Two COVID-19 positive inmates of Mandoli Jail died on June 15 and July 4. Both were senior citizens, according to the officials.

They said ever since coronavirus cases came to notice early in March, the prison department stayed vigilant and instructed its staff to not only maintain hygiene and social distancing among themselves but to educate all inmates in three jail complexes — Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli — about them.

A major step that was taken towards maintaining social distancing was to decongest the jails.

Director General (Delhi Prisons) Sandeep Goel emphasised that its decongestion drive and spreading proper awareness among the inmates as well as staffers played a huge role in tackling the pandemic.

He said restricted entry, repeated medical screening of inmates, isolation of those with symptoms, compulsory 14-day quarantine for new inmates were some of the key measures which were implemented since early March to check the spread of the deadly virus.

"We took timely precautionary measures. Every new inmate was isolated. After medical screening, we quarantined them initially for three-four days but soon we extended the quarantine period to 14 days which was compulsory for any new inmate," Goel said.