This information came to light in Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola’s response to a written question posed by DA Member of Parliament (MP), Werner Horn, on the Parliamentary Monitoring Group website in early June. 

It has been revealed that 700 prisoners at the private correctional facility are HIV positive, with the Durban Medium B and Pietermaritzburg Medium A in KwaZulu-Natal exceeding this number, with 1003 and 1055 prisoners respectively. OFM News’ Olebogeng Motse reports the 3000 capacity private prison owned by Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC), in which UK Security company G4S and three other shareholders have a stake, has a far lower tuberculosis (TB) rate.

The prison’s TB rate is only 13, with one prisoner out of the 700 having both HIV and TB. Coincidentally, Horn’s question comes as the Western Cape Health Department released a presentation by Public Health Medicine Specialist and University of Cape Town (UCT) Professor, Mary-Ann Davies, on the risk people with chronic conditions have of dying from COVID-19. Her research based on the Western Cape’s cases indicates people with HIV and TB are less likely to die from the coronavirus, than those with diabetes and high blood pressure. In May OFM News reported that a female employee at the Mangaung private prison had tested positive for the novel Ccronavirus.

At the time, BCC said the employee, who works in the library, and all individuals with whom the employee has had contact, have been tested and were self-isolating at their homes. All inmates who have also come into contact with the infected employee, were isolated in a separate ward in the facility. BCC further adds that all areas have been re-sanitised.

The Mangaung private prison assures the public that since the outbreak of the virus in the country, they have taken the necessary precautions to protect inmates and all G4S employees. This has come in the form of regular sanitisation of the prison and the provision of gloves, masks and hand sanitisers. They say the provincial health department has inspected the prison’s health facility and they have green lit it for use amidst the outbreak. The Free State Health Department is yet to comment on the matter.

OFM News