Jail superintendent dies with Covid-19

A senior jail superintendent of the Department of Prisons who earlier tested positive for Covid-19, died at a hospital in Dhaka today.

Md Abu Jahed (58), a senior jail super of Mymensingh Central Jail, breathed his last around 12:45pm today while undergoing treatment at Central Police Hospital in Dhaka, Md Amirul Islam, assistant inspector general of the Department of Prisons headquarters, told The Daily Star.

After showing some symptoms, Jahed first gave samples for Covid-19 at a Mymensingh hospital on July 5 but the result came back negative. He gave the sample again on July 7 and was again found to be negative, said the official.

But Jahed was suffering from actuate breathing problems and was transferred to Central Police Hospital in Dhaka on July 11 and was tested for Covid-19 again -- this time the report came positive.

Since then, Jahed was undergoing treatment in the hospital, added the official.

This is the first ever death of Covid-19 reported in the Department of Prisons.

According to official database, around 243 people were tested Covid-19 positive in different prisons across the country.