KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) says nine more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the ward population at the South Camp Juvenile Correctional Centre.

The DCS said 18 staff members are also on home quarantine.

Director of Medical Services in the Department, Dr Donna-Michelle Royer-Powe said, “The positive cases recorded in the correctional centres continue to be largely asymptomatic, most confirmed cases have been identified because of contact tracing, line listing and targeted testing in the institutions. We have had 16 cases have recovered and our latest targeted testing programme at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre (TSACC) saw 99 tests returning negative results.”

The DCS noted that procurement activities have been bolstered to increase the number of surgical masks per person per day and supplemental sanitisation supplies have been distributed to the centres to increase cleaning activities in keeping with recommendations from the Ministry of Health and Wellness during a tour of the Horizon and Tower Street Adult Correctional Centres recently.

It said deep cleaning activities were undertaken yesterday at the facility, as one of several steps to cauterise the spread in the ward population

The department said it continues to emphasise and carry out protocols established by international bodies and other benchmark corrective organisations versed in the management of outbreaks within correctional institution to prevent outbreak in the nation’s penal institutions.

It said these protocols have resulted in only five of the 11 correctional centres in the country recording positive inmates so far.