At least 20 women and five children have tested positive for Covid-19 in Byculla women’s jail last week. A separate section for male inmates also witnessed 10 cases. A prison official said that those who tested positive have been shifted to a nearby school. One of the prisoners, who is a senior citizen, has been shifted to a civic hospital. There are over 450 prisoners in Byculla prison.
Meanwhile, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday approved an ordinance to restore OBC reservation in rural local bodies. The approval comes a day after the state Cabinet sent a revised proposal to the Governor’s office after he raised issues over its previous proposal.
In other news, a fire broke out at Notan Villa building on sixth road in Khar West on Thursday evening, killing one person. The victim, identifed as Hema Jagwani (40), was rushed to Hinduja hospital where she was declared brought dead. Fire brigade officials said the fire erupted in a room in the building.
Also, Mumbai reported 497 new coronavirus cases and five fresh deaths on Thursday, taking the infection count to 7,39,861 and the toll to 16,068. 395 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, pushing the number of recovered cases to 7,16,511. Mumbai now has 4,801 active Covid-19 cases.
