The Director General (Prison) Uttar Pradesh Anand Kumar has said a Covid vaccination programme for inmates lodged in prisons in the state will begin as per the instructions of the government. The first dose of corona vaccination will be given to the inmates on March 23 and 24. Kumar said that at present there are a total of 1,12,120 prisoners lodged in various jails of Uttar Pradesh, and Covid-19 tests of 4,33,789 inmates, including those who were released on bail, was done during the entire pandemic.

Speaking further on the issue, DG Prisons UP said, “According to the instructions of the government, prisoners above 60 years and those above 45 years who are suffering from any other serious disease will be given a dose of corona vaccine. During the corona period, best efforts were made to control the corona in the jails of UP, due to which not a single death in any prison has occurred due to the corona.”

Kumar said that there are only 22 Covid cases in Uttar Pradesh jails, out of which 20 are prisoners and two jail staff. He said that the first dose of the Covid vaccine has been given to all the jail staff. Employees who have not yet been vaccinated due to leave or any other reasons will soon be given the first dose of corona vaccine.

Anand Kumar said that during the pandemic, sanitizers were made in record numbers in the jails of UP. Besides being used in jails, they were also sold to other departments as well.