KUALA LUMPUR: Over 1,300 people being held at immigration depots have tested positive for Covid-19 since May, Deputy Home Minister Ismail Mohamed Said told the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said during the same period, the Bukit Jail detention centre had the highest number of infections, 650.
He said this was followed by Langkap immigration depot with 48, Semenyih detention centre (127), KLIA (77) and the remaining 20 at Belantik, Putrajaya, Lenggeng and Juru detention depots.
“The Prisons Department had tested 60,583 prisoners for Covid-19 since Aug 29 and 829 had tested positive,“ he said in reply to a question by Dr Lee Boon Chye (PH-Gopeng) who had asked the ministry to state the number of Covid-19 patients in immigration depots and prisons.
He also asked about the SOP for officers involved in managing prisoners and detainees.
Ismail said the SOP was based on receiving (the detainees and prisoners) and getting the prisoners and detainees out to receive treatment and to court.
He said at the prison it involves a 14-day process where a prisoner will be isolated for five days at the detention room while waiting for the test result.
He said if positive, the prisoner will be sent to the hospital, and if negative they will be sent to the isolation room for another nine days.
He said only after 14 days in isolation and with negative results will the prisoner will be sent back to prison.
He said when it comes to detention depots, the same SOP is used where in lock-ups physical distancing was implemented especially when taking the accused to court.
