Staff at Canberra's jail are battling to contain a new COVID-19 outbreak, which has so far resulted in the infection of 29 inmates and the disruption of ongoing court cases.
The current wave of coronavirus cases is the third major outbreak to have hit the Alexander Maconochie Centre during the pandemic.
A Justice and Community Safety Directorate spokeswoman told The Canberra Times the fresh outbreak had been detected in "remand unit 1" on Saturday.
All inmates known to be infected have since been moved to "remand unit 2".
"ACT Corrective Services is working with Canberra Health Services to manage the incident," the spokeswoman said on Wednesday afternoon.
"All COVID-positive detainees remain in isolation until cleared by CHS."
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said, in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, that she had received information suggesting the jail would be "in shutdown" until at least the end of this week.
The directorate spokeswoman said the facility was not "in full lockdown", however, though restrictions had been imposed on in-person family visits for people in affected areas of the prison.
"All detainees have access to phone and computers in their accommodation areas," she said.
"These devices can be used to maintain contact with family whilst in-person visitations have been suspended.
"Legal and welfare visits services are continuing."
The spokeswoman added that prison staff were doing rapid antigen tests at least once every two days, and Corrective Services was not aware of any returning positive results connected with the current outbreak.
The situation has begun creating headaches in the ACT's courts, with the outbreak understood to have already caused the indefinite postponement of a child sex offender's sentencing.
Former Australian rules football coach Stephen James Porter, 52, had been set to learn his fate on Friday after pleading guilty to four child sex charges and spending the past several months behind bars on remand.
The dates for at least one upcoming criminal trial are also likely to be vacated, with Chief Justice McCallum to reassess that case next week to see whether or not the defendants, who are behind bars on remand, can be brought to court.
