Two divisions within the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, Co Laois have been locked down after a Covid outbreak was identified.
The Irish Prison Service confirmed that 14 positive cases had been recorded within the prisoner population, with 12 of these confirmed on Tuesday.
Testing of all staff is now underway alongside testing of prisoners located within the D and G Divisions.
Access to video and phone call visitation may be effected on a short term basis for prisoners located in these two divisions. However, the prison has said it is working to facilitate family contact as best it can.
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said: "The Irish Prison Service can confirm there are (14) positive cases amongst the prisoner population. 12 additional prisoner cases were confirmed 09th November 2021.
"The Service is working closely with HSE Public Health where both Contact Tracing and Covid swabbing is ongoing. The positive cases relate to the E&G Divisions.
"The Midlands Prison Outbreak Control Team (OCT) continues to engage with Prison Management to oversee appropriate actions to mitigate against further possible spread of the disease within the prison.
"The Irish Prison Service is working closely with HSE Public Health with regard to the management of the current outbreak and arrangements for the testing of all staff including prisoners located in the E&G Divisions have commenced.
"To help prevent the further spread of infection a more restricted regime has been introduced for the E&G Divisions which may impact on access to video visits and phone calls in the short term for prisoners in precautionary isolation however we are working to ensure that we can continue to facilitate family contact as far as possible."
The prison was 93% occupied at the time of the outbreak, with a total of 810 prisoners on site.
The Irish Prison Service told the Leinster Express 89% of the prison population are fully vaccinated.
The outbreak comes after figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre confirmed Laois currently has the fifth-worst 14-day incidence rate of Covid in the country, with 784 cases identified in the two weeks before November 4.
