The Department of Correctional Services has confirmed the deaths of two inmates at the East London Correctional Centre.
Spokesperson, Singabhako Nxumalo, said the deceased had “underlying co-morbid conditions” and died five days apart.
He said the Department had sent messages of condolence to their families.
Six new cases were also reported at the prison, taking the number of confirmed cases at the EL Centre to 100. These included 35 officials and 65 inmates.
“Our health care practitioners are already on-site providing an array of health services. They have been provided with adequate Personal Protection Equipment and they are attending to the cases and are monitoring the situation so that those in need of urgent medical attention can be attended to,” Nxumalo said.
He added that there were 58 recoveries, which he said was “a clear indication of the effectiveness of the containment and treatment pillar of the DCS' Covid-19 Disaster Management Response Strategy."
Under this strategy, there is rapid identification of laboratory-confirmed cases, and inmates who test positive are isolated and have access to quality healthcare that enable their recovery, he said.
Nxumalo also said that the total number of Covid19 cases within the Department of Correctional Services stood at 165 countrywide, with one death in the Western Cape under investigation.
“We continue to work with the Department of Health, adhering to all their guidelines in fighting against this pandemic,” he said.
