Prisoners in isolation after coronavirus outbreak at Wormwood Scrubs

By Owen Sheppard, Local Democracy Reporter

Inmates at Wormwood Scrubs Prison in west London have been put into 24/7 isolation following a Covid-19 outbreak.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed that inmates in one wing of the prison have tested positive, and that all prisoners in that wing are having to stay in their cells 24/7, for a period of two weeks.

An online fundraising page published on Thursday of last week, claims there have been “30 positive cases” in the affected wing of the category B prison, in White City, which has six main wings.

The page says inmates are “struggling to cope”, and aims to raise money for care packages of food and playing cards to be delivered to individuals’ cells.

The MoJ was asked to confirm the number of inmates at Wormwood Scrubs who have tested positive and who are self-isolating, but refused to say.

A spokesman said: “We have effective measures in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus in prisons, led by the latest advice from Public Health England.”

The MoJ website states that visits to Wormwood Scrubs Prison inmates are banned. Inmates are not allowed personal phones, so calls to family have to be made by the inmates on the prison’s phones.

As of September 30, 23 inmates had died from the virus in England and Wales since the pandemic began, and the most recent death was in May. Some 630 inmates, including young offenders, had tested positive.

Pictured top: Wormwood Scrubs prison