Prisoners should be among first in line for vaccine says organisation
The South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights believes prisoners should be amongst the first to be given the COVID-19 vaccination.
The organisation fears that prisoners that contract the virus can easily transmit it to fellow inmates and Staff. National spokesperson Miles Bhudu say prisons are already overcrowded as it is, making proper social distancing almost impossible.
Bhudu says if the vaccine is not prioritised, it will have a devastating effect on prisons.
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"Prisoners are every now and then strip-searched by a unit called the Emergency Support Team with bare hands, sometimes with no wearing a face mask," says Bhudu.
He says this happens when they are looking for contraband.
Bhudu also states that this is not the only issue, "In the other prisons though, some go for days without water."
"Prisoners are in permanent quarantine, they are behind high brick walls which are covered with electric fence and razor wires."
