<p>Dozens of prisoners in a Pakistani jail have contracted the novel coronavirus, officials have said, with more than 150 additional inmates potentially infected as cases of COVID-19 continue to soar in the impoverished country.</p>.<p>At least 49 inmates at a jail in the eastern city of Lahore have tested positive, according to a tweet by the provincial chief minister late Monday.</p>.<p>The outbreak is believed to have stemmed from an inmate who was arrested for smuggling narcotics and had returned from Italy last month. He was diagnosed on March 23.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-india-tally-breaches-4500-mark-death-toll-touches-145-817763.html" target="_blank"><strong>Follow live updates of coronavirus cases in India here</strong></a></p>.<p>"Health department officials are coming every day to monitor the situation and the conditions of the patients," Amir Rauf Khawaja, a public relations officer for the Lahore jail authority, told AFP Tuesday.</p>.<p>Khawaja said the test results for an additional 154 prisoners were still pending and authorities had set up a quarantine area inside the facility for inmates that had tested positive for the coronavirus.</p>.<p>Pakistani prisons and jails are frequently beset by shoddy health and hygiene conditions along with overcrowding making the facilities a potential flashpoint for the highly contagious coronavirus.</p>.<p><strong>Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-india-update-state-wise-total-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-on-april-7-822289.html" target="_blank">Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths</a></strong></p>.<p>According to a 2019 government report, there are more than 70,000 people currently incarcerated in 114 different facilities across Pakistan, many of which are stretched beyond their intended capacity.</p>.<p>Ali Haider Habib from the advocacy group Justice Project Pakistan called the outbreak a cause for "great alarm", saying "drastic measures" including releasing vulnerable prisoners needed to be taken immediately.</p>.<p>The Supreme Court is set to review a petition filed by the country's attorney general calling for the early release of thousands of prisoners in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>Pakistani has recorded 3,864 COVID-19 cases and 54 deaths, however, the true tally is thought to be many times larger as only limited testing is available in the impoverished country of 215 million.</p>
<p>Dozens of prisoners in a Pakistani jail have contracted the novel coronavirus, officials have said, with more than 150 additional inmates potentially infected as cases of COVID-19 continue to soar in the impoverished country.</p>.<p>At least 49 inmates at a jail in the eastern city of Lahore have tested positive, according to a tweet by the provincial chief minister late Monday.</p>.<p>The outbreak is believed to have stemmed from an inmate who was arrested for smuggling narcotics and had returned from Italy last month. He was diagnosed on March 23.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-india-tally-breaches-4500-mark-death-toll-touches-145-817763.html" target="_blank"><strong>Follow live updates of coronavirus cases in India here</strong></a></p>.<p>"Health department officials are coming every day to monitor the situation and the conditions of the patients," Amir Rauf Khawaja, a public relations officer for the Lahore jail authority, told AFP Tuesday.</p>.<p>Khawaja said the test results for an additional 154 prisoners were still pending and authorities had set up a quarantine area inside the facility for inmates that had tested positive for the coronavirus.</p>.<p>Pakistani prisons and jails are frequently beset by shoddy health and hygiene conditions along with overcrowding making the facilities a potential flashpoint for the highly contagious coronavirus.</p>.<p><strong>Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-india-update-state-wise-total-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-on-april-7-822289.html" target="_blank">Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths</a></strong></p>.<p>According to a 2019 government report, there are more than 70,000 people currently incarcerated in 114 different facilities across Pakistan, many of which are stretched beyond their intended capacity.</p>.<p>Ali Haider Habib from the advocacy group Justice Project Pakistan called the outbreak a cause for "great alarm", saying "drastic measures" including releasing vulnerable prisoners needed to be taken immediately.</p>.<p>The Supreme Court is set to review a petition filed by the country's attorney general calling for the early release of thousands of prisoners in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>Pakistani has recorded 3,864 COVID-19 cases and 54 deaths, however, the true tally is thought to be many times larger as only limited testing is available in the impoverished country of 215 million.</p>