A male inmate in the Kumasi Central Prison is in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.
It is the jail’s first positive case of coronavirus since the disease was first detected in the country mid-March 2020.
The convict, who is serving an eight-year jail term for stealing, was rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) on Friday, when he fell sick.
Showing signs of the virus, his samples were immediately taken for testing and later returned Covid-19 positive, sources at the facility disclosed.
The development has sparked widespread agitations among junior officers in the nine-decade-old holding center who come into contact with the close to 2,000 inmates at least on a daily basis.
Amid calls for urgent action, the officers fear they may have been exposed to the virus putting the lives of their immediate families in jeopardy.
“We feel unsafe in there,” the source said adding that: “Looking at the congestion at the facility even visitors are at risk.”
No form of contact-tracing has yet commenced at the time of filing this report. The facility which covers 44,000sq.ft. sits close to the Central Business District of the Ashanti Regional capital Kumasi.
The region’s Covid-19 caseload stands at 2,275 with 38 deaths.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com
