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The Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Tshwane registered its first Covid-19 infection after a prisoner awaiting trial tested positive for the virus.
On Saturday night, the Department of Correctional Services announced that the number of cases registered with correctional institutions across the country had increased to 118.
The last case in Kgosi Mampuru II was detected after massive evaluation and testing in prison.
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It has not yet been determined if the inmate became infected while inside the prison or if he caught him before being arrested and taken to prison.
Infection
Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said he was obtaining information about the inmate and was awaiting the results of the tests, which would help determine the root of the infection.
The prison in Tshwane has become the third in the country where inmates have tested positive for Covid-19.
The East London Correctional Center in the Eastern Cape is the most affected prison in the country, with 33 officials and 56 inmates who have tested positive for the virus to date.
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News24 previously reported that the outbreak of the virus in prison emanated from an official who worked in its women’s section. The official is believed to have been infected while attending a funeral.
In the Western Cape, the Worcester Correctional Center became the second prison in South Africa, where an inmate tested positive for Covid-19.
To date, seven officials and one prisoner have tested positive at the prison.
Other prisons with confirmed cases
On Tuesday, the department announced the first Covid-19 case in a Gauteng prison after an official at the Johannesburg Correctional Center, also known as Sun City, tested positive.
Warm Bokkeveld prison in the Western Cape registered 15 officials who tested positive for the virus.
The Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Center in Limpopo has recorded two cases, while an official at the St Albans Correctional Center in Port Elizabeth also tested positive for Covid-19.
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