Mdantsane warders begging to be tested

Some refuse to report for duty, leaving handful of colleagues to fulfil duties

Warders at Mdantsane prison are begging to be tested for Covid-19 amid claims case numbers are rising at the correctional centre.

Some warders are no longer even reporting for duty, leaving only a handful of their colleagues to oversee the prison population, which itself has seen at least two infections, officials told the Dispatch.

This is the prison where inmates were filmed in April playing soccer, cheered on by hundreds of prisoners, despite social distancing measures supposedly being in place.

Three warders, who spoke to the Dispatch on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media, claimed the facility was yet to be decontaminated and this was causing more infections among warders and inmates.

Correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo denied the allegations, saying when a staff member tested positive, the first thing the department did was to initiate tracing of their direct contacts.

Nxumalo said this was done through registers kept at the facility and those records helped in contact tracing.

But the warders claimed those books were not being used at Mdantsane prison.

As of July 1, there were 2,522 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in SA’s correctional centres — 1,275 officials and 1,247 inmates. Active cases are standing at 761.

In Eastern Cape correctional facilities, 398 officials and 744 inmates have tested positive for the virus.

Seven people have died. A warder who has worked at Mdantsane prison for more than 15 years said Covid-19 was spreading “because the building was not deep-cleansed”.

“As a result of this, people have become scared to go to work. Some offices at the prison are closed because people are not coming to work,” she said.

“Some [warders] are on special leave. We are working with a skeleton staff and now two inmates have tested positive for Covid-19.

“The prison has not been fumigated until now and the prisoners have not been tested.”

She said the warders who tested for Covid-19 used their own money to pay for the procedure.

Another warder who is in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19 said health protocols had “never ever been followed at the centre”.

Despite warders testing positive, it was “business as usual”.

“I’m sure there are warders who should be isolated or quarantined but they are not tested because they are not showing symptoms, even though they might have been in contact with someone who’s got Covid19,” he said.

The warder alleged that prison management was telling those who tested positive not to disclose their results to fellow warders.

“People are being called by managers and are being told to lie and say their results are negative. But what about the offenders who don’t have access to herbs and medicine that will boost their immune system like you and me on the outside?

“These offenders are SA citizens under our care, and we are appealing for all warders and inmates to be tested.”

A third officer said he was having sleepless nights not knowing where he would selfisolate or quarantine should he test positive, as he lived with his family.

“The employer should try to get a guest house as a quarantine site for warders, where they can also provide us with professional help and continuously monitor and support colleagues through health practitioners and psychologists,” the warder said.

“We have a duty list from human resources and other administrative books and registers, and those duty lists are not used as primary sources to identify those who have been in contact with those who tested positive.”

Nxumalo questioned the Dispatch sources, saying they were out to drag the department’s name through the mud.

“Everyone who has been exposed to the virus is tested and quarantined if they are positive,” he said.

“This is happening across all centres where cases have been confirmed, including Mdantsane.

“I think there is a need for the media to subject such sources to a credibility test because surely the objective is to misinform and portray the department in a negative light

“We have subjected our systems to continuous monitoring and evaluation. It became clear that infection prevention control needed some form of rejuvenation, otherwise all efforts are meaningless.”