Prisoner bungle sees TWO of Australia's biggest jails exposed to coronavirus as a man accused of robbery in Melbourne tests positive
- A prisoner has tested positive for COVID-19 at a Melbourne remand facility
- He was swabbed on entry to the Melbourne Assessment Prison on Monday
- But he was transferred to a second facility before his test results came back
- The inmate has been placed in isolation and contract tracing is underway
A bungled prison transfer has seen two jails put on alert for COVID-19 after an inmate tested positive for coronavirus.
The man was swabbed for coronavirus as part of new COVID-19 protocols when he arrived at the Melbourne Assessment Prison on Monday.
But he was immediately transferred to a second facility, the Metropolitan Remand Centre, while he was still awaiting his results.
He was diagnosed with COVID-19 three days later, prompting fears he may have spread the disease among other inmates.
The prisoner's positive COVID-test came back after he was transferred to the Metropolitan Remand centre (pictured) at Ravenhall, west of Melbourne
A spokesperson for Department of Justice and Community Safety told Daily Mail Australia the risk of the virus having spread is relatively low (pictured, the remand centre in Ravenhall)
Contract tracing is underway to determine if anyone who came into contact with the infected inmate is experiencing symptoms.
According to the Herald Sun the prisoner was arrested for for robbery, drugs and stolen goods offences.
A spokesperson for Department of Justice and Community Safety told Daily Mail Australia the risk of the virus having spread is relatively low.
'He will continue to be monitored and assessed while in isolation, and is being provided with a range of supports,' the spokesperson said.
Since March 28 anyone newly entering prison undergoes a 14 day quarantine.
They are placed into controlled quarantine units when they are admitted for a period of 14 days, before being placed with the rest of the prison population.
He was immediately transferred to a second facility - the Metropolitan Remand centre (pictured) while he was still awaiting his results
During this time they are required to wear face masks if they leave their cell when they could come into contact with staff or other inmates.
Welfare groups are concerned the infection could spark and outbreak behind bars, which would leave prisoners as 'sitting ducks'.
In the United States a total of 41,107 prisoners have contracted coronavirus with 501 deaths according to research from John Hopkins University.
The country's prison population is around 1,295,285.
The overcrowded facilities and lack of hygiene make them a perfect breeding ground for the spread of viruses, leading for calls to release low-risk non violent offenders.
Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Greg Barne SC said prisoners who are low risk should be released.
'Since the COVID-19 crisis broke we have said that prisoners are at grave risk of becoming infected and that the poor sanitary conditions of prisons around Australia means COVID-19 could spread quickly if it enters a prison,' he told the Herald Sun.
'Non-violent prisoners, prisoners who are on remand simply because they have no home address, and vulnerable prisoners such as those over 65 should be released now. In fact, the Victorian government should already have done this.'
However a prisoner insider said it was hard to trust corrections authorities to handle the situation.
Police officers and prison officers are required to wear face masks and gloves if interacting with accused offenders or convicted felons (pictured, officers in Melbourne on July 10)
Victoria has recorded 428 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 5,165 (pictured, testing in Melbourne on Friday)
'How can Victorians have confidence in Corrections Victoria managing the state's hotel quarantine if they haven't even been able to effectively manage the frontline prison COVID-19 protocols,' the source said.
Greens spokesperson for justice Tim Read told 7NEWS the state's prisoners are 'sitting ducks'.
Victoria has recorded 428 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 5,165.
Of those, 935 cases are feared to be community transmissions.
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