At least 45 prisoners and three others including an official have tested positive for Covid19 in district jail Anantnag.
The samples of 239 inmates, staffers and mess staff of the jail were collected after a PSA detainee of Trehgam Kupwara, Zahoor Bhat – brother of JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat, was declared positive for the virus.
Bhat had complained of chills following which he was taken to GMC Anantnag where his sample was collected.
He is undergoing treatment in the isolation ward of the hospital.
“Besides Bhat, 45 inmates have now tested positive,” an official said.
He said the sample of an official, a staffer, and a supplier of essentials has also returned positive.
“Of the 239 samples, 48 have returned positive and rest negative,” an official in GMC Anantnag told the Greater Kashmir.
He said the positive cases are being isolated.
The jail located in Mattan area of Anantnag has a capacity of around 80 inmates but is overcrowded with around 180 prisoners.
A jail official said the authorities were taking “all the precautionary measures and the medical team was on the job.”