KATHMANDU: Following the confirmation of COVID-19 among jailbirds, the parliamentary committee has directed the government to seriously take its earlier recommendations and directives regarding the management of prisoners and bring them into implementation in a prompt manner.

The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee issued an order to the government in view of the spike of coronavirus infections in central and other jails across the country.

Committee President Shashi Shrestha said that the directive was issued to the government to arrange PCR testing of jailbirds and security personnel of all prisons where coronavirus infection was already contracted.

The virtual meeting of the committee on Sunday took the decision to direct the government to make such an arrangement.

There are 74 prisons in 72 districts of the country.

The committee had already recommended the home ministry to keep inmates in open jail and parole, form parole boards and make separate clusters of inmates based on their health status in a bid to allay virus transmission risk.