Only inmates at affected block in Sg Buloh prison to be screened

CORONAVIRUS | Health officials will only screen inmates at a single block of the Sungai Buloh prison for Covid-19.

Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said only the block where a Covid-19 case was detected will be screened, as inmates from different blocks do not intermingle.

However, he said all prison staff will be screened.

Yesterday it was reported that a foreign inmate had contracted the virus after being transferred to an immigration depot for deportation.

Ismail said 600 inmates, and 700 staffers will undergo screening.

He also reiterated that prison visitations are currently not allowed to avoid outsiders from introducing the virus to the prison population.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told Malaysiakini yesterday that the prisoner, who is Canadian of Sri Lankan descent, was convicted at the end of May and was moved to the Semenyih immigration depot as he was planned for deportation.

As part of the new standard operating procedure (SOP), all new detainees to the depots must be screened for Covid-19, he said.

“The new ruling is all prisoners must be tested first for Covid-19 as a requirement before being detained at the immigration depot.

“He (the inmate) was found to be positive for Covid-19 and was sent to Maeps for isolation and treatment.”

During the prisoner’s stay at the Sungai Buloh prison, he was placed in a cell with a total of eight to 10 people, Noor Hisham added.

Meanwhile, Ismail said a Rohingya man who was reported to have escaped a quarantine centre yesterday, has been apprehended and returned to the centre. - Mkini