Set up isolation wards in Vidarbha's jails, HC tells Maha

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Monday asked the state government to set up isolation wards at all central jails across Vidarbha in view of the coronavirus pandemic. A division bench headed by Justice S V Shukre also raised concerns about medical staff working with coronavirus patients in government hospitals, which increases the risk of their families being exposed to infection.

The bench suggested arrangements to be made for the staff to stay in hospital premises itself. The bench was hearing a petition filed by one Jairam Zanwar claiming the government medical hospitals in the three districts lack facilities.

The court was on Monday informed that separate wards need to be set up in jails to ensure prisoners showing any symptoms of the virus are kept away from the others. "We direct the state to make necessary arrangements for setting up isolation wards at central jails in Vidarbha region within a week's time," court said.

The court also directed the Central and state governments to procure adequate numbers of testing kits..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)