Magistrates and prosecutors self-isolate

Operations at the East London magistrate’s court have been thrown into disarray, with about half the magistrates going into precautionary self-isolation and seven state prosecutors being asked to do the same by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

This comes just days after 25 nurses at East London’s Frere Hospital were placed in self-isolation last week because they apparently came into contact with a patient who later died from Covid-19.

All the nurses have since tested negative for the virus and are back at work, except for one who is still quarantined as she apparently attended to the patient without wearing any personal protective equipment (PPE), the provincial health department confirmed on Sunday.

On Wednesday, several local and regional court magistrates were told they might have been exposed to the coronavirus after attending a meeting on Monday with a senior correctional services official from East London prison who a day later learnt he had been infected with the virus.The magistrates have been told to self-isolate at home, and only return to court once they have tested negative for Covid-19.  

The Magistrates’ Commission confirmed on Friday that the Monday meeting in the courthouse boardroom had been attended by a number of magistrates, senior officials from correctional services and officials from the NPA.  

The meeting itself was called to deal with issues arising from the outbreak of Covid-19 in the prison.

Magistrates’ Commission spokesperson Dawood Mohamed said: “The magistrates who attended that meeting have been requested to self-isolate and arrange for testing after seven days. Once their results are received, further considerations will be made.”

Mohamed said the section of the court used for Monday’s meeting had been “cordoned off and decontamination exercises put in place”. 

Mohamed said there were sufficient magistrates to deal with matters while their colleagues were in isolation.

Though Mohamed said only four magistrates had attended the meeting on Monday, sources said six had been asked to stay home.

The Dispatch has seen correspondence from the authorities informing the six magistrates of the developments and asking them to isolate themselves.

“ [We are] attempting to arrange with the department of health to do tests, but as an interim measure, these people should in the meantime self-isolate and not go to work,” the correspondence said.

The City Press reported that seven East London prosecutors have been told to go into quarantine because their supervisor came into contact with a Covid-positive person during a meeting also attended by the magistrates.

This was confirmed by NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke.

Prosecutors have lamented the lack of PPE within the NPA, saying this placed their lives at risk.

On Sunday the provincial health department confirmed that results for the 25 nurses tested after treating a Covid-positive patient had come back negative.

The nurses were screened and tested last week after an elderly patient died at the hospital, the first person to succumb to the virus in Buffalo City Metro.

A highly placed source told the Dispatch the patient was in a ward with other patients and was treated like any other patient before she was found to be positive.

However, health MEC spokesperson Judy Ngoloyi refuted the claims on Sunday.

“The patient was admitted to an isolated ward for high care given her condition at the time when she presented breathing problems,” Ngoloyi said.

But the source said she was not put into isolation. “There were other patients with her. She was only tested two days after she was admitted. There was a lot of cross infection already. Other patients who were with her were discharged without being tested.

“There is a possibility that it spread even then. She was admitted to high care and was nursed as usual like other patients, then later nurses found out from the notes that she was Covid-19 positive.

“We are in fear. Everyone in that environment is at risk.

“Nurses had to fight to be tested. It was only on Wednesday that the nurses were tested after the patient died on Sunday. Other nurses are using public transport,” said the source.

Ngoloyi said: “For all the nurses who were in contact with the late patient, their results came back negative. They are working now. Only one nurse is in quarantine, the one who apparently worked without wearing PPE.

“She was tested and is in quarantine now. All the other nurses had adhered to the regulations stipulated.”