A Scottish Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed two inmates had Covid-19 (Picture: Getty)

A pair of prisoners at HMP Kilmarnock have tested positive for coronavirus.

Earlier this week two men at the East Ayrshire lock-up had been quarantined after showing symptoms of the disease. The Serco run prison was not thought to have put the site on lockdown or isolate other prisoners.

Today’s announcement from the Scottish Prison Service comes after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed number of people in the country to die from the disease doubled to six in one day.

There have been a total of 266 confirmed cases in Scotland and 2,626 in the whole of the UK. As the infection count continues to rise, charity law practice APPEAL s calling for some non-violent prisoners to be set free to avoid exposure to the deadly airborne bug.


Two inmates were understood to have been put in isolation earlier this week (Picture: Getty Images)

The number of people infected in Scotland doubled from yesterday, as the national infection toll continues to rise (Picture: Duncan McGlynn)

Yesterday’s demand came as the first case of a British inmate being infected with Covid-19 was confirmed at HMP Manchester, also known as Strangeways Prison.



A relative of an HMP Kilmarnock inmate told the Daily Record how no hand sanitiser had been made available for prisoners or their visitors.

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They added: ‘The prisoners are saying another man might have it as well but they were allowed to mingle with others before being sent down to the halls.’

Deputy director of the Bowhouse prison Pamela Swan said the jail is awaiting further NHS guidance and that staff ‘will take every measure possible to keep our staff and prisoners safe’.

Confirming the news on Twitter this afternoon, Scotland’s Justice Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘Two prisoners in our care have tested positive for COVID-19, both in HMP Kilmarnock.

‘Scottish Prison Service (SPS) are working with Health Protection Scot & NHS to ensure appropriate care. Currently, affected prisoners don’t require hospital treatment. Priority is safety of our staff & those in our care.’

It comes a day after Britain’s first prisoner was diagnosed with Covid-19 at Strangeways Prison in Manchester (Picture: Geograph/Peter McDermott)

People wear masks on Prince Street, Edinburgh, Scotland after people were urged to avoid all non-essential travel and social contact (Picture: Getty Images)

He added: ‘SPS are well prepared for this situation. They have a National Pandemic Plan in place & following Public Health Guidance.

‘Where possible, we want prisoners to be able to maintain family contact, clearly we will be guided by public health advice.’

A SPS spokeswoman said there were no restrictions on movement in the jail and visits were carrying on as normal.

Inmates showing signs of the flu-like disease are to self-isolate in their cells for seven days.

Any prisoners showing symptoms of Covid-19 are to self-isolate in their cell for seven days.

The spokeswoman added: ‘Those who are self-isolating still have access to food and medication and we are working on ways to maintain communication with friends and family.’

Writing to the UK Government yesterday, APPEAL warned prisoners were at risk of exposure to the virus and that greater segregation and lack of visitors in jails could lead to more suicides.

The charity said the move to suspend jury trials in England and Wales had been greeted with ‘despair’ in prisons, where around one in 10 inmates are on remand.

A report by MPs in 2018 concluded 15% of the prison population had respiratory conditions, and last year inspectors found 10 out of 35 men’s prisons ‘failed to meet the minimum standards of infection control compliance and cleanliness’.

Charity APPEAL warns 15% of the prison population have respiratory conditions – making them more vulnerable to Covid-19 (Picture: Getty Images)

Campaigners have demanded non-violent and older prisoners be released during the outbreak (Picture: Getty Images)

APPEAL director Emily Bolton said: ‘In this country, a prison sentence is supposed to be a deprivation of liberty; not a death sentence.



‘Prisoners are part of families and our community, and those families and communities are desperately worried about their loved ones behind bars.’

The charity is calling for the release on bail of prisoners convicted of non-violent offences who have been granted permission to appeal, those on remand for non-violent offences and those aged over 70.

It wants the measure to stretch to all inmates in category D minimum security open prisons, prisoners with health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus, and those who are pregnant or in mother and baby units.

Inmates who remain in jail should be given free phone calls to relatives and legal teams and confidential email contact with their lawyers, APPEAL added.

A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘We are not planning to release any prisoners as a result of Covid-19.’

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