The Delhi Prisons Department has asked around 3,600 staffers, including security personnel, to enrol themselves for COVID-19 vaccine shots as the authorities gear up for the inoculation drive, officials said on Sunday.
According to a senior jail official, around 1,600 jail staffers, 1,000 Tamil Nadu Special Police personnel who carry out security duty at Tihar jail and 1,000 paramilitary personnel are being enrolled.
The date, time and place of vaccination will be sent to the staffers on their mobile number, they said, adding, that no inmate will get the shot in the first phase as it has been reserved for front-line workers.
“We appreciate the dedication and hardwork done by jail officials and security forces who were at a high risk of catching COVID-19 due to the nature of their job. The vaccination will help boost their morale and help them work fearlessly in this tough situation,” Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said.
A total of 292 prison staffers have contracted the infection till Saturday and 289 of them have recovered, while three are still under treatment, officials said.
As for the inmates, 115 have tested positive for the virus so far, out of whom 113 have recovered and two died, the officials said.
No inmate has tested positive for COVID-19 since December 10 last year. The last case was detected on December 3 and the patient recovered on December 10, officials said.
Among the prisons, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Rohini jail on May 13 last. Two COVID-19-positive inmates of Mandoli jail died on June 15 and July 4. Both were senior citizens.
