Correctional Services registers 72% recovery rate in fight against Covid-19

The correctional services department says it is making ground in its battle against the coronavirus, with a recovery rate of 72%.

“It is unimaginable that a department which, on May 26 2020, had 482 confirmed inmate cases could today talk of 70 requiring treatment and monitoring,” department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said.

Nxumalo said the department had recorded a total of 2,311 confirmed cases, and 1,673 recoveries.

He said the explosion in the first cases at the East London prison in April brought a scare to the country.

“DCS continues to review the relevance and impact of its Disaster Management Response Strategy on Covid-19,” Nxumalo said.

He said the containment and treatment plan saw the department increasing its health care battalion by employing more than 600 professional nurses.

“This regiment was aided by a panel of medical experts. Besides additional troops, DCS subjected its systems to continuous monitoring and evaluation.”

He said as the virus was moving towards the peak, the department was fully aware of the immense task ahead.