- 152 inmates at Helderstroom Prison in the Western Cape have tested positive for Covid-19.
- Tests also found that eight officials have the virus.
- The prison went into an even stricter lockdown as a result, after 124 officials and 58 inmates countrywide died after contracting the virus.
Helderstroom Prison has gone into an even stricter lockdown after 152 inmates and eight officials tested positive for Covid-19.
"Lockdown refers to limited movement, to almost none," said Department of Correctional Services (DCS) spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo.
"Inmates cannot move to other sections inside the prison. Outsiders cannot go inside the centre, unless under pressing circumstances or emergencies."
Nxumalo said, as of Friday, 124 officials and 58 inmates countrywide had died after contracting Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
The department's tracking of the virus revealed that, as of Friday, there had been an additional 86 cases countrywide.
The officials are from Eastern Cape (4) Free State and Northern Cape (11), Gauteng (13), KwaZulu-Natal (16), Western Cape (14), Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West (25) and Head Office (3).
The 42 additional cases of inmates emanate from: Western Cape (31) and Gauteng (11).
The total number of confirmed DCS cases is 9 428, with 6 091 officials affected, and 3 337 inmates.
