Following positive COVID-19 tests amongst officers at the Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) Academy and Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre (AGCC), QCS continues to work closely with Queensland Health to ensure the safe operation of the state’s correctional centres.
This includes identifying and testing prisoners who have been identified as being at risk of exposure.
QCS continues to implement restrictions to keep our correctional environments safe on the best advice from Queensland Health, and as a result of their tracing inquiries, we are able to relax restrictions at a number of centres from today, 30 August:
Stage 1 restrictions:
- Capricornia Correctional Centre
- Lotus Glen Correctional Centre
- Townsville Correctional Centre
Stage 3 restrictions:
- Brisbane Correctional Centre
- Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre
- Helana Jones Centre
- Maryborough Correctional Centre
- Numinbah Correctional Centre
- Palen Creek Correctional Centre
- Princess Alexandra Hospital Secure Unit
- Southern Queensland Correctional Centre
Stage 4 restrictions:
- Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre
- Borallon Training and Correctional Centre
- Escort and Security Branch Escorts, Wacol
- Wolston Correctional Centre
- Woodford Correctional Centre
Everyone entering a Queensland prison will undergo health screening including thermal imaging, and new reception prisoners are subject to 14-day isolation protocols.
On advice from the Chief Health Officer, all officers and essential workers entering prisons under Stage 3 and 4 restrictions must don a surgical face mask as PPE under the supervision of Queensland Health staff. This PPE will be provided by QCS.
Officers working in Escort and Security Branch are required to wear a surgical mask and gloves when escorting prisoners.
As a precautionary measure, Queensland Health has determined the best approach is to test every member of staff from AGCC, which is currently being conducted through a dedicated fever clinic at the QCS Academy.
In addition, it has been determined by Queensland Health that due to the risk posed by the officers considered to have been infectious in the workplace, those officers who worked in the facility during this time are being notified by Queensland Health to undertake testing and a period of 14 days quarantine.
