GEORGE TOWN: Social media was abuzzed today with the death of an 85-year-old detainee of the Penang Remand Prison, who was later confirmed to be Covid-19 positive.
It was learnt that the detainee was found unconscious inside his cell yesterday before being taken to the Penang Hospital.
The Health Ministry had confirmed the death of an 85-year-old Covid-19 patient in Penang on Monday (Oct 5), but did not indicate if the said patient was a prison detainee.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the 85-year-old deceased was found unconscious at 7am and was taken to the Penang Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 7.50am.
"Covid-19 test conducted on the deceased came back positive. He also suffers from high blood pressure and mental illness," he said.
State police chief Datuk Sahabudin Abdul Manan, when contacted by the New Straits Times, said he could not confirm what happened inside the prison.
"Please check with the prison department," he said.
State Health Department director Dr Asmayani Khalib did not respond to NST's query on the matter.
Meanwhile, Penang Remand Prison director Mohamed Jusoh Ismail told Bernama that they had taken immediate measures to address the matter.
He said close contact of the inmates, including prison wardens and other inmates, had been separated and quarantined to prevent from any untoward incident.
He also said that close contact of the inmate needed to undergo Covid-19 screening but did not elaborate.
Penang today reported three Covid-19 cases, with one death, bringing the total number of positive cases to 152.
The Penang Remand Prison is the third prison to report Covid-19 cases after Tawau in Sabah and Alor Star in Kedah.