All 2,000 inmates at Seberang Prai Prison to undergo screening

GEORGE TOWN - All 2,000 inmates at the Seberang Prai Prison in Jawi will undergo Covid-19 screening, after three prisoners tested positive yesterday.

Penang Prison director Roslan Mohamed said although the three men who tested positive for the virus were placed in different cells from the rest, they are taking precautionary steps to ensure that those infected receive early treatment.

"Apart from the old inmates, all the new inmates brought into Seberang Prai Prison will also undergo preliminary screening of Covid-19. The prison staff will also follow strict standard operating procedures (SOP) in the handling of prisoners.

"The new inmates will be segregated and placed in separate blocks for 14 days, and if after that they are negative, then we will transfer them to the same block cell as the old inmates," he said.

He said this screening process may take several days.

Roslan added, over the past three days until yesterday, a total of 200 new inmates and prison staff had been tested, and all have returned negative. 

He said the three Covid-19 positive inmates were currently housed in transit blocks far from other inmates and were receiving treatment from MOH staff there, while 15 other inmates who were in the same cell as them had also been quarantined.

"The transit block has been empty for a long time and the prisoners who tested positive for Covid-19 were placed there for treatment.

“They are in stable condition and the situation in prison is under control," he added.

Meanwhile, Roslan did not rule out the possibility of all family members of the prison’s staff undergoing screening. 

"It is possible that family members of prison staff who are close contacts of inmates who have tested positive will undergo Covid-19 screening,” he said.

Yesterday, Health Minister director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced that there is a new cluster, namely the Jawi Prison Cluster after three prisoners there tested positive.

He said until yesterday, a total of 177 prisoners in the Penang Remand Prison were confirmed Covid-19 positive, and all of them are in stable condition, after receiving treatment.

The National Security Council (NSC) has imposed an enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in the locality around the prison.  – The Vibes, October 14, 2020