The first prisoner in Ireland has tested positive for Covid-19.
Up until now the Irish Prisons Service had introduced stringent conditions to ensure the virus would not get into the country’s jails.
However, it is now understood a female prisoner has been confirmed as having coronavirus yesterday.
RTÉ News has confirmed that she has been in prison for more than a week.
The woman has been in quarantine since her incarceration and has not mixed with other prisoners and remains in isolation.
It is also understood that the only people the woman would have had contact with are staff, who would have been wearing personal protective equipment.
The HSE said it cannot comment on individual cases or outbreaks of Covid-19.