Six police officers test positive for coronavirus
The Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (Popcru) says six of its members have tested positive for coronavirus.
The union’s spokesperson Richard Mamabolo says positive tests come amid a lack of personal protective equipment for officers, who are tasked with enforcing the lockdown regulations.
“Though our members are up and about in carrying out their mandate, we are increasingly becoming worried by the many reports of the lack of personal protective equipment that are made available to them.”
Mamabolo says despite widespread reports of police abuse, the union believes most officers act within the prescripts of the law when enforcing the lockdown.
We are confident that an overwhelming majority of our officers remain committed to serving our people with dignity, but are however concerned about the reported 21 incidents lodged with the IPID in relation to police conduct while in the process of enforcing the lockdown.”
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has registered six cases of “death as a result of police action” during the first week of the Covid-19 lockdown.
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Mkhize was briefing the media in Cape Town on Friday. "The total number that has tested positive at this point is 1505 and that indicates 43 new cases that have been recorded today," he said. "We have two more deaths in KwaZulu-Natal, which one is an 80-year-old male and the other one is an 81-year-old female.