COVID-19: 27 Maharashtra jails record 1,478 cases; six deaths

At least 10,536 prisoners have been released from various jails in the state to contain the spread of coronavirus, the official said. (Representational image: Reuters)

As many as 1,478 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths have been reported from 27 jails in Maharashtra so far, an official from the prisons department said on Friday.

A total of 1,166 inmates and 312 jail staff have contracted the infection and six prisoners have died of it, the official said.

As far as inmates are concerned, Nagpur Central Jail is the worst-affected in the state with 219 cases, followed by Pune’s Yerwada Central Jail with 190 cases, he said.

While Arthur Road Jail and Sangli Prison have recorded 182 and 145 cases respectively, he added.

With regard to the viral spread among prison staff, Nagpur has reported 62 cases, while Mumbai, Thane, Aurangabad, Kalyan and Yerawada prisons have 46, 35, 34, 31 and 26 cases respectively, the official said.

“Of the 1,166 infected inmates, 848 have recovered, while of the 312 jail personnel, 272 have recovered so far,” he added.

At least 10,536 prisoners have been released from various jails in the state to contain the spread of coronavirus, the official said.

The current population of all the prisons in the state is 26,408, he added.