Prisoners & staff to be tested for Covid-19 after warder tests positive

A female official working at the East London Correctional Centre, in Westbank, has tested positive for Covid-19, the department of correctional services said late on Monday.

Correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told DispatchLIVE that all officials who have come into contact with the infected person have been identified and asked to isolate at home while awaiting testing.

The statement said that the National Institute for Communicable Disease (NICD) would start mass screening and testing at East London Female Correctional Centre on Wednesday.

Nxumalo said prevention measures would be intensified and that the department is committed to the wellbeing of offenders and officials in the department.

The Eastern Cape now has 32 confirmed cases of the pandemic, while SA's total Covid-19 cases now stands at 1,686 with 12 deaths.