Covid outbreak confirmed at Castlerea Prison

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has confirmed a large outbreak of Covid-19 at Castlerea Prison. The outbreak is in one section of the prison.

Last week, 27 prisoners from the A Division in the prison tested positive for Covid-19.

“An outbreak control team has been established and the A Division completed a first round of testing on Tuesday 15th February. A restricted regime has been implemented for the A Division until all test results have been returned,” the IPS said.

“Given the high number of positives, a second round of testing is ongoing,” the spokesperson said. “That’ll be done within the next couple of days.”

It is hoped that the results of this second round of testing will be negative and the outbreak will be closed down.

“The Irish Prison Service is currently managing 3 active outbreaks of Covid-19 across the prison estate,” the IPS said. “The total number of prisoners that have tested positive for Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic is 915. Given the current level of prevalence of the virus in the community the Irish Prison Service now faces an unprecedented challenge in continuing to keep prisoners safe from infection. The Prison Service has managed 19 Covid-19 Outbreaks within a prison setting since November 2021, of which, 16 have been successfully stood down.”

The Irish Prison Service announced that it has increased the number of physical visitors to prisons to three persons from Monday 14th February 2022. The three visitors may include up to two children.

Prisoners are entitled to receive one physical visit per fortnight. Prisoners will also be able to avail of a video visit during the week that they are not receiving a physical visit. Prisoners may choose to avail of a video visit instead of a physical visit if they prefer.

Visits will continue to be subject to infection control measures including the wearing of a prison issued face mask. While the restricted capacity of the visitor waiting area have been removed in line with the recent government decision on social distancing, visitors are asked to continue to make an effort to social distance, if possible.

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