One of Ireland's biggest prisons has been hit by an outbreak of Covid-19.
Five prisoners have been diagnosed with the virus at the Midland's Prison, Portlaoise, Co Laois, it was confirmed this evening.
Now all 777 inmates are to be tested to try and lock down the pandemic, and control the spread as much as possible.
This is the first time Covid has been detected in any Irish prison.
Up until now, only inmates on remand and coming and going for court appearances had been infected.
They were all isolated and kept away from the permanent prison population in each jail they were detained.
None of the five have been hospitalised so far, but they are being closely monitored in case their condition deteriorates.
In a statement the Irish Prison Service said: "Five prisoners have tested positive for Covid-19 and have been isolated in line with infection control procedures.
"We are working closely with Public Health and the CHO testing team in the HSE and contact tracing is ongoing.
"The positive cases relate to one area of the prison and all prisoners accommodated in this area and staff who are assigned to the area have been tested.
"All other prisoners and staff in the Midlands Prison are being tested as a precaution."
It is understood an Outbreak Control Team meeting has now taken place to review the cases and agree the appropriate actions to be taken against the further possible spread of the disease within the prison.
A prison source said: "We are not prepared to say who the inmates with Covid are. We are doing everything in our power to ensure it doesn't spread through the prison population in the Midlands."
Irish prisons were among the few in Europe who had not been hit by the pandemic.
The rest of the country's jails are still Covid free after great efforts by the prison staff and inmates themselves.
There are currently around 3,700 prisoners jailed in the Republic.
