Covid: HMP Northumberland hit by new coronavirus outbreak

Category C jail HMP Northumberland houses about 1,300 inmates

HMP Northumberland has been hit by a new outbreak of Covid-19.

The category C prison, near Acklington, said it was trying to control the spread of the virus after a number of staff and prisoners tested positive.

It said measures to ensure staff and inmate safety included "appropriate self-isolation and testing".

"We continue to liaise with the UK Health Security Agency and the local authority to limit infection transmission," a spokesperson said.

The cluster of cases at the jail means the Druridge Bay ward has the highest rate of coronavirus infections in Northumberland, with 92 positive cases and a rate of 1,410 per 100,000 people in the week to 7 February.

Morpeth Kirkhill recorded the next highest rate of 1,084 per 100,000 with 57 cases.

The county's overall case rate is 655 per 100,000, having dropped since a peak of the Omicron variant in early January.

'Six months without shower'

Two wings of the Sodexo-run prison were locked down during a previous Covid-19 outbreak in October 2020.

An inspection report prior to that found some prisoners with symptoms of coronavirus were locked in their cells for up to eight days, without access to a shower or the open air, until their test result came back. 

HM Inspectorate of Prisons also found one prisoner with mobility issues had not showered for six months because Covid restrictions meant he could not get to an accessible bathroom.

Director of public health Liz Morgan revealed details of the latest outbreak during a Northumberland County Council health and wellbeing board meeting on Thursday morning.

The prison confirmed "a number of staff and prisoners" had tested positive for the virus but did not reveal the actual total.