Covid cases among prisoners reduced
Coronavirus cases are surging around the country, but the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) has managed to reduce the infection rate in its facilities, reporting only four active cases among inmates as of Tuesday morning.
NCS head of central staff, Commissioner Sam Shaalulange on Tuesday told Nampa that while they are still experiencing a rising number of cases among administrative staff, cases among inmates have reduced drastically.
He said there are currently 72 active cases among correctional officers, a number which is expected to rise as more contact persons get tested.
Following the outbreak of the pandemic last year, the NCS was among the institutions struggling to manage the spread of infections due to the confined living space of inmates, which made social distancing impossible.
Since the outbreak, the NCS has recorded 402 cases among inmates and 915 cases among officers, most of which were recorded last year. Meanwhile, five officers and three inmates have thus far succumbed to the virus.
In August 2020, when the Windhoek Correctional Facility recorded over 100 cases, NCS Commissioner General Raphael Hamunyela was quoted as saying there was not much they could do in terms of measures to control the spread of infections in facilities as social distancing is impossible among inmates.
Shaalulange said their Covid-19 task teams, health workers and the health ministry have since introduced stricter measures, which have resulted in the reduction of cases in their facilities.
“I think credit goes to the health personnel at the clinics in all our facilities, as well as to our own task team that has been hands-on and tirelessly working to ensure that we introduce stricter measures and enforce adherence to bring the situation under control. It is all because of their work, plus that of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, that we are here today,” he said, adding that discipline among officers in enforcing measures has also helped.
The NCS has a vaccination site at the Windhoek Correctional Facility and as of Tuesday, 739 first doses had been administered to 540 offenders and 199 officers, while 167 second doses had been administered to 105 offenders and 62 officers.
Shaalulange said they are in the process of rolling out more vaccination sites at other correctional facilities.