NIBONG TEBAL: A total of 14 prisoners, about to be released within a month, were confirmed as being infected with Covid-19 yesterday, Jawi prison director Zulkifli Abdul Manah said today.
He said all the prisoners at Seberang Perai prison in Jawi were confirmed positive after undergoing a second Covid-19 screening test.
“It is now a prison procedure that prisoners waiting to be released have to undergo a screening test to ensure they are free of the pandemic so that the virus does not spread outside when they are released,” he said.
“Currently, those who are positive are placed with other inmates who are confirmed positive and all of them are in stable condition and will only be released after they are fully recovered,” he said.
To date, Seberang Perai prison has recorded 270 positive Covid-19 cases with three active cases involving prison officers, all of whom have recovered and discharged from Penang Hospital.
The prison and surrounding area are in lockdown under the Enhanced Movement Control Order until Wednesday. A total of 2,110 prison inmates, 1,129 prison staff and family members as well as 32 government employees, are affected.
CLICK HERE FOR OUR LIVE UPDATE OF THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA
