More than 68 500 prison inmates have been vaccinated against Covid-19, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has said.

The department estimates all inmates will be vaccinated by mid-August.

"This dynamic vaccination drive demonstrates that DCS is [moving in] a positive direction towards reaching herd immunity within correctional facilities.  To date, a total of 68 593 inmates have been inoculated.  The daily vaccination target remains at 8 391. Correctional officials are not to be left behind.  Those who have been vaccinated thus far stand at 12 328," department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said.

He said the vaccination of inmates will go a long way towards reducing mortality and preventing institutional outbreaks.

"Vaccines are not mandatory, but inmates and officials are encouraged to get vaccinated. Awareness campaigns targeting both inmates and officials are continually rolled out to demystify some of the myths around vaccines," he said.

There have been 15 052 cases of Covid-19 at correctional facilities – 9 342 officials and 5 710 inmates. The recovery rate is 92.23% (13 882), and 221 officials and 90 inmates have died of Covid-19 complications.

In addition to the vaccination drive, newly admitted inmates are being placed in isolation sites to protect the general inmate population, Nxumalo said.

"The Delta variant did cause an upset as DCS recorded (above-average) new positive cases in the month of July 2021. Coupled with the recent unrest in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, there was an added strain due to the increased number of remand detainees, thus pushing DCS to create additional isolation sites," Nxumalo said.