COVID-19 | The Prison Department will take measures to relieve crowded conditions after detecting Covid-19 cases in six of its prisons.

It said to date, prisons that still have active Covid-19 cases are Alor Setar Prison (950 cases), Tawau Prison (96 cases), Pokok Sena Prison (64 cases), Kamunting Correctional Centre (eight cases), Penang Prison (seven cases), and Kajang Women’s Prison (one case).

Of the 1,126 active cases, 453 cases are new cases reported today.

Prisoners comprise 1,087 of the active cases, while prison staff and family members make up the remaining 39 cases.

For the record, the Tawau Prison is the epicentre of the Benteng LD Cluster, while the Alor Setar Prison is in the Tembok Cluster.

The Prison Department said in light of the new cases, it has taken all measures to follow standard operating procedures set by the Health Ministry to treat, quarantine, and prevent the spread of the disease.

It has also tightened the SOPs through several measures under the Prison Commissioner-General’s Standing Orders.

To relieve congestion and reduce the infectivity of Covid-19, the department said it is also taking “additional and drastic” measures.

Firstly, it said convict under Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act will be transferred to several National Service camps that have been gazetted as temporary prisons.

This is expected to house between 2,300 and 2,800 prisoners.

Secondly, the department said convicts who were sentenced to less than one-year imprisonment and still have less than three months remaining in their sentence will be released under the Prisoner Release by Licence (PBSL) scheme.

It said that as of yesterday, there are 11,018 prisoners eligible to be considered for PBSL.

“All prisoners released through PBSL must pass strict selection criteria and pass a Covid-19 test by the Health Ministry,” it said in a statement today.

Despite the large outbreaks in prisons, the department urged members of the public to remain calm as prisons are restricted areas with tight security.

Previously, on Sept 30, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said 676 out of 879 cases in the Benteng LD cluster at the time involved prisoners and detainees at Tawau Prison and the Lahad Datu police district headquarters lockup.

Another 26 involved staff at the police headquarters and prison, and 33 cases involved family members of prisoners and staff.

Social contacts of prisoners, detainees, staff and their family members, meanwhile, accounted for another 144 cases.

Since then, the Benteng LD cluster has grown to 951 cases in total, involving the districts of Lahad Datu, Tawau, Sandakan, and Kinabatangan in Sabah.

The Health Ministry has yet to provide corresponding figures for the Tembok cluster.