Over three hundred inmates in Pekanbaru test positive for COVID-19

Rizal Harahap | The Jakarta Post |Pekanbaru / Sat, November 7, 2020 / 12:42 pm

Three hundred fifty-seven inmates in the Pekanbaru Class II A Correction Center have tested
positive for COVID-19, making it the latest COVID-19 cluster in Riau.
The positive cases were revealed following swab tests conducted at the facility on Oct. 26, when
1,502 inmates were tested.
“The results were delivered to us in two stages. The first results, which we received on Nov. 2,
showed that 207 inmates were positive for COVID-19, and on Nov. 5 we received another group of swab
test results that showed that 150 inmates were positive,” Riau Law and Human Rights Agency head Ibnu
Chuldun said on Friday, adding that the inmates were asymptomatic.
“We have [responded to] the COVID-19 spread by separating healthy inmates from positive inmates.
Some of the inmates who tested negative have been transferred to the juvenile detention [facility] in
Rumbai,” he said.
He went on saying that the inmates’ families should not feel worried, because inmates with COVID-
19 have been treated by the COVID-19 task force in Riau.
“Every positive inmate has been isolated and treated for 14 days as stipulated in the health
protocols,” Ibnu said.
He also added that the task force had previously treated inmates at the Women’s Detention Center in
Pekanbaru.
“As many as 75 of 85 positive inmates at the detention center have recovered. Ten inmates are
getting better, but they are still staying in a separate place because their isolation period is not over yet,”
Ibnu stated.
The acting head of the Pekanbaru Detention Center, Alfonsus Wisnu Ardianto, added that he had
prepared a special isolation block with a capacity of 500 people, which was separated from the healthy
inmates’ block.
“Every inmate who tests positive for COVID-19 is given vitamins to increase their stamina. We will
also take them to sunbathe every morning,” Alfonsus said, adding that the detention center would not allow
visits for the next five days to prevent the virus from spreading further.
Last month, there were 106 infected prisoners at the Kerobokan Correction Center in Badung, Bali,
including 84 men. All of them were isolated in the Kuta block of the penitentiary.
Prison authorities discovered a COVID-19 cluster in the penitentiary by carrying out mass COVID-
19 rapid testing over several days, after several inmates had complained of symptoms related to COVID-19,
such as loss of smell and taste.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s Corrections Directorate
General has been struggling to prevent COVID-19 transmission at penitentiaries due to overcrowding and
understaffing. (dpk)

Editor’s note: This article is part of a public campaign by the COVID-19 task force to raise people’s
awareness about the pandemic.

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 Lebih dari tiga ratus narapidana di Pekanbaru dinyatakan positif COVID-19

Rizal Harahap | The Jakarta Post | Pekanbaru / Sab, 7 November 2020 / 12:42 pm

Tiga ratus lima puluh tujuh narapidana di Lapas Kelas II A Pekanbaru dinyatakan positif COVID-19, menjadikannya
cluster COVID-19 terbaru di Riau.

Kasus-kasus positif terungkap setelah tes usap yang dilakukan di fasilitas itu pada 26 Oktober, ketika 1.502
narapidana diuji.

“Hasilnya disampaikan kepada kami dalam dua tahap. Hasil pertama, yang kami terima pada 2 November,
menunjukkan 207 narapidana positif COVID-19, dan pada 5 November kami menerima hasil tes usap lain yang
menunjukkan 150 narapidana positif, ”Hukum dan HAM Riau Kepala agensi Ibnu Chuldun mengatakan pada hari
Jumat, menambahkan bahwa para narapidana tidak menunjukkan gejala.

“Kami telah [menanggapi] penyebaran COVID-19 dengan memisahkan narapidana yang sehat dari narapidana yang
positif. Beberapa narapidana yang dinyatakan negatif telah dipindahkan ke [fasilitas] penahanan remaja di Rumbai,
”katanya.

Dia melanjutkan, keluarga narapidana tidak perlu merasa khawatir, karena narapidana yang terjangkit COVID-19
telah ditangani oleh satuan tugas COVID-19 di Riau.

“Setiap narapidana yang positif telah diisolasi dan dirawat selama 14 hari sebagaimana diatur dalam aturan
kesehatan,” kata Ibnu.

Dia juga menambahkan, Satgas sebelumnya telah merawat narapidana di Rutan Wanita di Pekanbaru.

“Sebanyak 75 dari 85 narapidana positif di pusat penahanan telah pulih. Sepuluh narapidana sudah membaik, tapi
mereka masih tinggal di tempat terpisah karena masa isolasi mereka belum berakhir, ”kata Ibnu.

Penjabat Kepala Rutan Pekanbaru Alfonsus Wisnu Ardianto menambahkan, pihaknya telah menyiapkan blok isolasi
khusus berkapasitas 500 orang, yang dipisahkan dari blok narapidana sehat.

“Setiap narapidana yang dinyatakan positif COVID-19 diberikan vitamin untuk meningkatkan stamina. Kami juga
akan membawa mereka untuk berjemur setiap pagi, ”kata Alfonsus, seraya menambahkan bahwa pusat penahanan
tidak mengizinkan kunjungan selama lima hari ke depan untuk mencegah penyebaran virus lebih lanjut.

Bulan lalu, ada 106 narapidana yang terinfeksi di Lapas Kerobokan di Badung, Bali, termasuk 84 pria. Semuanya
diisolasi di Lapas Blok Kuta.

Otoritas penjara menemukan cluster COVID-19 di penjara dengan melakukan tes cepat COVID-19 massal selama
beberapa hari, setelah beberapa narapidana mengeluhkan gejala terkait COVID-19, seperti hilangnya bau dan rasa.

Sejak awal wabah, Direktorat Jenderal Pemasyarakatan Kementerian Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia telah berjuang
untuk mencegah penularan COVID-19 di lembaga pemasyarakatan karena kepadatan dan kekurangan staf. (dpk)

Catatan editor: Artikel ini adalah bagian dari kampanye publik oleh gugus tugas COVID-19 untuk meningkatkan
kesadaran masyarakat tentang pandemi.

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