Face masks made by inmates of some prisons in Maharashtra, will be used by staff of various state government departments. The cloth masks are being made in prisons at Thane, Kalyan, Pune, Amravati, Aurangabad, Nashik, Nagpur, Akola and Kolhapur, and have been bought by the police. In the past three days, 1 lakh face masks have been made as per regulations for their manufacture, by the prisoners.

While police personnel have been using these masks, they are also being given to prisoners being taken for hearings in courts. When the accused return, they are allowed into the jail only after they have washed their hands. Arrangements have also been made in the prisons to ensure that every accused washes her/his hands with soap and water. There are 35,000 jailed accused in Maharashtra.