72 inmates, 7 staff of Mumbai jail test positive for COVID-19

As many as 72 inmates and seven officials from Arthur Road jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus, prison authorities said on Thursday.

The inmates who have tested positive would be shifted to G T Hospital and St George Hospital in the state capital, they added.

Earlier, speaking to reporters in Palghar district, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had informed that 72 inmates of the jail had tested positive for infection.

After the coronavirus epidemic broke out, the state government had isolated eight prisons in the state including the Arthur Road prison, and ordered that no new person will be allowed to enter and those inside, including jail staff, will not be allowed to leave prison during lockdown.

But despite the precautions, 72 inmates of Arthur Road prison were found to have contracted coronavirus after coming in contact with a cook who had caught the infection, Deshmukh had told reporters.

"These prisoners will be quarantined with the help of the Mumbai civic body," he said.

The home minister was speaking to the media after visiting Gadchinchale village in the district where three persons including two monks were lynched by a mob on suspicion of being thieves on April 16.

Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of virus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years' imprisonment.