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Barely 24 hours after correctional services minister Ronald Lamola announced there were 26 coronavirus cases at the East London Correctional Centre in West Bank, inmates at Mdantsane prison were playing soccer, cheered on by hundreds of their fellow prisoners.
Two videos have emerged of inmates kicking a ball in the prison yard, completely disregarding the call for physical distancing.
The videos, leaked to the DispatchLIVE, show the scene inside the Mdantsane prison on Monday.
On Tuesday, the department of correctional services said 49 more people had tested positive for the coronavirus at the West Bank facility, whose management team also oversees Mdantsane prison.
In total, there are now 174 positive Covid-19 cases in the Eastern Cape — a significant leap from the 104 cases announced by health minister Zweli Mkhize on Monday.
There have been two fatalities in the province, both in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba said a 77-year-old man had died before the first death was announced in the Eastern Cape — a 66-year-old North End woman who died on Thursday last week.
“The 77-year-old was admitted to Livingstone Hospital but he had a lot of underlying issues such as diabetes and renal failure.
“He wasn’t admitted to hospital because of Covid-19, which was why there wasn’t an announcement,” Gomba said.
The Mdantsane prison videos prompted an immediate response from the correctional services department.
Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said: “The area commissioner and the head of centre are checking the videos because we need to verify whether it’s in Mdantsane and the time when these videos were captured.
“That will be easy to do because the officials know the inmates.
“They will be able to recognise them and possibly when this soccer match was taking place.”
By Bongani Fuzile – DispatchLive
