South Coast jail ‘deep cleaned’ as Covid-19 spreads through prisons

An inmate of a NSW jail was unable to attend court via video link, with corrections staff telling the court the centre was “undergoing a deep clean”.

An inmate was unable to front court via AVL from jail this week amid reports the prison he is being kept in was “undergoing a deep clean”.

South Coast Correction Centre inmate Christopher Ronald Etchells was due to front Nowra Local Court for a committal on Tuesday, when court staff phoning the prison to have him dialled into the AVL were told it wasn’t possible.

“He can’t appear because the prison is undergoing a deep clean,” a court staff member told Magistrate Lisa Viney after ending a phone call with NSW Corrective Services staff at the prison.

Inside South Coast Correctional Centre. this year. The jail is reportedly undergoing a deep clean. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

Mr Etchells is charged with one count of robbery in company cause wounding grievous bodily harm, and using an offensive weapon in company.

When asked about why the jail was undergoing a deep clean, a NSW Corrective Services spokesperson said it was “business as usual” inside the prison, located just outside of Nowra.

It comes as family of another inmate claim a prisoner at the same jail has been denied a Covid-19 vaccination. The wife of an inmate, who asked to remain anonymous, said her husband was aware of two positive cases arriving at the prison on August 28 from the privately-operated prison at Parklea.

The prisoners were “taken away” a short time later, according to the inmate’s wife.

A Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network spokesman said covid positive adult prisoners are moved to a “central location” at Silverwater Correctional Complex, “where they can be kept separate from the rest of the prison population, their care can be properly managed and they can be near a tertiary hospital in case it is needed”.

The prisoner’s wife, who did not wish to be identified, also claims her husband has been denied a vaccination to protect him against the virus while behind bars.

She’s concerned his six-month sentence might become a “life sentence” as the virus enters the prison system.

An inmate from the South Coast Correctional Centre could not appear in court via AVL on Tuesday because the jail was “undergoing a deep clean” (file photo. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

Her husband is aged in is 60s and is in the low security wing of South Coast Correctional Centre. According to the wife, he has not been offered the chance to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine despite numerous requests since June.

“Younger people are getting Pfizer, but they won’t give it to him because of his age,” she said.“They don’t say anything after he fills out the form for Astra. They don’t give him any answers.

“He’s a good family bloke who’s there for something he did 40 years ago. If he gets Covid it could turn into a life sentence.”

She said other older inmates are in the same situation, and her husband was feeling “depressed”, adding “he feels like he’s being left to rot”.

“I don’t understand, because the government wants everyone to be vaccinated and my husband wants to be vaccinated,” she said.

“He’s being treated like a number, not a person. Is he not a person anymore?

“It’s frustrating that they can’t provide the healthcare he needs.”

A room inside the South Coast Correctional Centre. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

A spokesman for the Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network, who are responsible for the provision of healthcare in NSW prisons, said inmates have “had access to a Covid-19 vaccination” since March this year.

“As vaccination is voluntary, all inmates and detainees had to give their informed consent before receiving the vaccine,” they said.

They said health care professionals are also available for inmates to discuss any concerns they have about the vaccination.

“Unvaccinated inmates and detainees currently in custody will have another opportunity to get vaccinated with a targeted vaccination program over the next two weeks, and we will continue to offer Covid-19 vaccination wherever possible,” the spokesperson said.

The Shoalhaven, the LGA in which the south coast prison sits, has recorded 14 cases of community-transmitted Covid-19 in the past a week.

All Corrective Services facilities across the state were plunged into lockdown last week following a string of positive Covid-19 cases inside jails.

The department is scrambling to rollout rapid antigen testing across the state, with covid positive inmates in several correctional centres.

The total number of positive inmates is understood to have surpassed 100, although the majority are fresh custodies who have been in isolation since entering the prison system.