four prisoners in sydney's largest prisons test positive to covid - and staff are being forced into isolation
Prison guards at one of Sydney's biggest jail have been ordered to isolate after four inmates tested positive to Covid, amid fears the virus could rip through the complex if staff test positive.
Corrective Services NSW confirmed to Daily Mail Australia on Monday night four fresh custody male inmates at Silverwater's Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre are infected.
Two recently spent time at Bathurst Correctional Centre west of Sydney, which was forced into lockdown last week.
All four infected inmates are quarantining at Silverwater's MRRC's isolation hub in western Sydney in accordance with existing Covid-19 protocols, with no new inmates allowed into the main jail until they complete 14 days quarantine.
Four infected custody inmates are current in isolation at Silverwater's Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (stock photo of the facility)
None of the four infected men had contact with other inmates at Silverwater, but did come into contact with a host of guards.
Affected prison staff have been ordered to get tested immediately and to isolate as an urgent investigation into how the four men contracted the virus is launched.
'All inmates are tested for COVID-19 when they arrive in custody and are managed in quarantine for 14 days before being cleared to move into the general population,' a Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said.
'The isolation hub at MRRC allows Corrective Services NSW to manage COVID-19 cases in a central location while providing them with the optimal level of care.
'The CSNSW COVID Command Post supports the contact tracing process in custodial facilities to identify anyone who has had contact with those inmates.
No other prisoners at Silverwater have come into contact with the infected custody inmates (stock photo)
None of the four men had contact with inmates at Silverwater.
One arrived at the jail last Wednesday and was quarantining in a single cell before he tested positive two days later.
He has since been transferred to Silverwater.
The other was released from custody last Monday and travelled to Walgett in western NSW before he tested positive two days later and was returned to custody.
The remote town was plunged into lockdown as a result of the positive case.
Two of the four inmates at Bathurst Correctional Centre west of Sydney , which was forced into lockdown last week
Affected staff at Silverwater Jail (stock image) have been ordered to get tested and self-isolate
Inmates at Bathurst who had contact with the infected prisoner before he was released from custody have so far tested negative.
The two other custody inmate at Silverwater tested positive on the weekend.
NSW recorded its darkest day of the pandemic on Monday with 478 new cases and eight deaths