all prisons in nsw go into a state lockdown amid fears a 'covid bomb' will go off after dozens of inmates tested positive for a

Every prison in New South Wales has been put on lockdown after Covid clusters emerged among unvaccinated prisoners and staff. 

Inmates will be unable to move around their facilities, there will be no mingling or recreation and visitors will be unable to see their loved ones as officials fear the Delta variant could ravage prison populations.

Parklea Correctional Centre has seen 31 inmates test positive to Covid and Bathurst Correctional Centre recorded eight cases, including correctional officers.

The NSW prison system will enter a state-wide lockdown after a number of Covid clusters were recorded within correctional facilities (pictured, Silverwater Correctional Complex as the lockdown began on Monday)

Silverwater Prison has also suffered an outbreak, with officials not revealing how many inmates or staff were affected.

A spokeswoman for Corrective Services NSW said that rapid antigen screening was already in place at the Surry Hills Cells Complex and Bathurst Correctional Centre, but will be put in place as a priority in other prisons. 

The Public Service Association of NSW, the union representing prison guards, said that only half of their officers had been fully vaccinated, calling into question the speed of the government's vaccination rollout.

General secretary Stewart Little told ABC radio on Monday that doses previously allocated to the prison workforce had been redirected to HSC students.

Parklea Correctional Centre recorded the highest number of cases, with 31 inmates testing positive for Covid-19

'If they're not prioritising it, they've got rocks in their heads because I can assure you having Covid in a prison facility is going to be like having a bomb go off,' Mr Little said. 

'So there is a degree of anger out there that we don't have the higher level of vaccination.'

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant warned that the situation was very concerning and that correction officers were a target for vaccination. 

'Obviously it's a complex operational environment. People are living in close quarters, obviously people are coming in to work in those prisons, Covid can be introduced. We also have high turnover,' Dr Chant said.

Inmates will be unable to mingle or partake in any recreation and visitors will be banned from seeing their loved ones (pictured, Silverwater Prison on Monday)

'Prisons is something we would also see a role for RAT (rapid antigen test) testing and other testing. I know that they've been testing people and isolating them when they go into prisons in order to try and prevent Covid being introduced.'

Currently, all inmates are tested when they arrive at prison facilities in NSW and go through a mandatory 14 day quarantine period before they are allowed to enter the general prison population. 

Correction Services officials are hoping they can use the lockdown to assess measures in place to prevent further Covid-19 outbreaks in prison populations.