FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
Team Herald
Panjim: Purported negligence by a COVID-19 positive jail guard has prompted a major scare in the Colvale Central Jail that saw the entire staff undergoing swab testing over the last two days on Wednesday-Thursday.
Around 7-10 staff members who came in direct contact with the first COVID-19 case were already sent to seven days home quarantine pending test results.
On Tuesday evening, the Prisons Department was informed that a jail guard had tested positive for the contagion coronavirus. The staff had undergone the test after two of his family members were found to be infected with the virus.
What has upset some in the dept is that the concerned staff from Vasco did not reveal a bit about the development in his family while he continued to report to work till their results. “Some of his family members had undergone testing for COVID-19. The jail guard did not bother to inform the department or his duty team about this and continued to report to work. It was on Sunday evening that their results confirmed positive for the virus after which the jail guard conveyed the development to two of his close colleagues,” a source in the dept told Herald.
Communication gap amongst the staff, has also led to the scare as the Prisons Department was informed about the jail guard’s COVID-19 status only after he failed to report to work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Herald contacted Inspector General of Prisons Gurudas Pilarnkar who confirmed that the jail guard skipped his duty on the two days. “We inquired with him on Wednesday as to why he did not report to work, which is when he told us that he is COVID-19 positive,” he said.
It is also not clear why his colleagues who were reportedly in the know of the guard’s COVID-19 status did not report the matter to their superiors.
Herald has also learnt that last weekend, the jail guard – recently reinstated on duty after his suspension, had cooked non-vegetarian food in the barrack. The food was shared by colleagues who were on duty with him. “He cooked chicken. Nearly half a dozen duty personnel joined him and they shared the meal. They allegedly also had alcohol,” the source said adding, “As a result, all those staff who came in his close contact including personnel who shared the barrack with him, were tested on priority on Wednesday and sent to home quarantine, to prevent possible spread of the virus.” Since the jail guard, now undergoing treatment, was posted in the under-trial block, sources said some of these prisoners will be taken for testing.
Pilarnkar refuted claims of a “party” held in the jail, while asserting that that the jail staff usually shares food during the break.
It is to be noted here that in the vast premises, the jail guards have no canteen whereas a separate canteen for the IRB and Goa Police are in place.
On Thursday, the entire staff underwent swab testing of which the results are awaited. The building was also sanitized two days after the incident broke out in the jail.
