GEORGE TOWN – The Covid-19 virus has now spread to the Jawi detention centre in Seberang Perai after 141 people were found infected in the state’s main remand centre within the Penang Prison complex on the island earlier this week.
Penang Prison director Roslan Mohamed confirmed that the three inmates in Jawi who tested positive for the virus were originally from the main prison. Their cells have since been disinfected and the three moved away for safety.
Another 15 inmates who shared their cells have been screened and the results are pending.
"The situation is under control and the inmates have been separated to a new block for safety and treatment as well as isolation,” he told The Vibes.
"The three prisoners had been transferred to Jawi about two weeks ago (from the main prison on Penang island) after they were convicted of crimes," he said.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had earlier announced that three inmates were tested positive for Covid-19 at the Jawi detention centre where a second prison cluster has been identified.
The first cluster was at the facility on the island. The affected detainees there had been moved between the prison and court complex, triggering concerns about whether others could have been affected in the process.
There are currently about 180 Covid-19 cases in the island prison, which is incidentally located behind the Penang Hospital.
The National Security Council has imposed an enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in the locality around the prison.
There are about 3,000 people living in the affected area, including families of prison officers and guards, and residents of an old folks home.
On October 5, an 85-year-old murder suspect who was found unconscious inside his cell in the Penang Prison complex before he was rushed to the emergency room of the Penang Hospital.
He was pronounced dead on arrival and a post-morten carried out later found that he had been Covid-19 positive. - The Vibes, October 14, 2020
