Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Six Whanganui Prison inmates isolating as close contacts to case

All six prisoners had returned a negative rapid antigen test result as of Friday afternoon, but the results of PCR tests await. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Six prisoners who recently arrived at Whanganui Prison are isolating after being confirmed as close contacts to a Covid-19 case at another prison.

But no prisoner or staff member at Whanganui Prison, based in Kaitoke, had yet returned a positive test result for Covid-19, a Corrections spokesperson said.

"Six prisoners who were received into Whanganui Prison on Wednesday were moved to the site's quarantine unit after we received information that they may have been in contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19 at another prison."

All six prisoners had returned a negative rapid antigen test result as of Friday afternoon.

But they underwent PCR testing on Friday and those results have not been revealed yet.

The Corrections spokesperson said the organisation had managed more than 100 cases of Covid-19 in prisons since March 2020.

There were 11 new cases announced in Whanganui on Friday by the Ministry of Health.