Dozens of Victorian prisoners and staff are battling COVID-19 as the state’s worsening outbreak leaks into jails.
Corrections Victoria says 36 prisoners and 15 staff are among the more than 14,000 active cases in the state.
Of the infected prisoners, 16 are at the Melbourne Assessment Prison, 11 at the Metropolitan Remand Centre, five at the Ravenhall Correctional Centre, three at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and one at Port Phillip Prison.
The five COVID-positive prisoners at Ravenhall were in the general prison population.
“One has been managed under quarantine arrangements since developing COVID-19 symptoms while in the general prison population on 25 September 2021, and has now been moved to the prison’s isolation unit,” Corrections Victoria said on Tuesday.
“The other four prisoners returned positive results as part of extensive surveillance testing of prisoners and staff, and are now in isolation.”
All new Victorian prisoners are tested and required to spend 14 days in protective quarantine, regardless of their COVID-19 risk.
Prisoner movement at the Dame Phyllis and Port Phillip prisons has been restricted while contact tracing takes place, and all in-person visits to Victorian jails are suspended.
Zoom and phone calls between prisoners and their family and friends are being facilitated where possible.
There are also cases among staff at the Metropolitan Remand Centre (five), Ravenhall Correctional Centre (five), Port Phillip Prison (two), Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (one), Maribyrnong Community Residential Facility (one) and Barwon Prison (one).
As of October 1, 73 per cent of adults in public and private prisons had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 52 per cent were fully vaccinated.
The first and second dose rates among prison staff were slightly higher, at 81 per cent and 62 per cent respectively.
AAP
Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
