Correctional services dropping the ball on screening for Covid-19

The Justice and Correctional Services department is set to probe claims of flawed screening at its Johannesburg Management Centre, with concerned officials warning of a Covid-19 ticking time bomb at one of the country’s most crowded prisons.

Despite seemingly grand plans to prevent and contain the spread of the virus in the country’s prisons, officials have said that the reality on the ground was the opposite and frightening.

The South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR) corroborated the claims by concerned officials that there was no proper personal protective equipment or hand sanitisers and screening at the facility.

“You could be forgiven for mistaking the situation as normal because everything is still done normal in here, nothing has changed,” said one official.

The official, who cannot be named, said warders were required to fill in a form with a checklist of nine symptoms and were sent home if they ticked yes on at least two of the list of symptoms.

He however said this was flawed in that the screening was supposed to be done by a nurse to ensure that all suspected cases were dealt with adequately.

“When the minister (Ronald Lamola) was here, the screening was done by nurses. Why the inconsistencies? The public has been told that vehicles coming in and out are sanitised but that is not true,” the warder said.

Another official claimed that detainees were brought in without being screened, before being placed in cells with other detainees.

“In my unit alone, 180 were brought in last weekend and none of them were screened. Also of concern for us is that management is not transparent. In the past two weeks, 16 of our colleagues from various units were sent home as suspected cases. Only two of these have returned to work but nothing is said about the others,” he said.

Based on accepted expert guidelines, the official said they were supposed to be issued with surgical gloves and 70% alcohol-based sanitiser, but said all they have been issued with substandard masks and sanitisers.

Golden Miles Bhudu, SAPOHR president, said they were aware of the concerns and that they have given Lamola until next Monday to present a detailed response strategy.

“It is a serious concern considering the fact that the department has, for years, failed to deal with the challenge of overcrowding in prisons. That is a fertile ground for Covid-19 and we need to sit with the minister because what we have learned from inmates and officials is frightening,” he said.

Singabakho Nxumalo, correctional services spokesperson, said their standard operating procedure on Covid-19 was that people must be screened at access control and when going through different units or sections.

“Should there be reports that this is not happening then it is an issue that must be investigated as that will mean there are officials who are not following the prescribed procedures,” he said.

The department has insisted that there has been screening at Johannesburg and supplies are being provided continuously, both for inmates and officials.

– siphom@citizen.co.za

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.