Mountjoy Prison block shut down after inmate tests positive Covid-19

Sources have confirmed that all prisoners in the C Wing of the Dublin jail are now in isolation after a prisoner who were displaying symptoms of the deadly virus on Wednesday came back with a positive test on Thursday morning.

An outbreak control team ‘OCT’ has been established and they will oversee the management of the situation after a meeting on this morning.

It is understood that mass testing of all prisoners in the jail will need to take place over the coming days but that decision has not been made yet.

There had been a number of positive Coronavirus cases in the jail last year and tonight sources stressed: “ At this stage there is just one positive case.”

The development comes as it has now emerged a total of eight prisoners have now tested positive for Covid 19 at Loughan House open prison in Co Cavan after it was announced on Tuesday that five inmates had tested positive at the facility.

“There have been 3 additional cases in Loughan House,” a source confirmed.

A total of 10 staff and five inmates had tested positive for Covid 19 at Wheatfield Prison earlier this week and there has been no more positive cases in the west Dublin jail.

The Irish Prison Service’s response to the health pandemic has been widely praised and led to them submitting a paper to the World Health Organization as a model of best practice for keeping Covid-19 out of prisons.

However there are now major concerns about a spread in our jail system.