21 inmates at maximum-security prison in Edmonton sick with COVID-19

Maximum security prison, Edmonton Institution.

An outbreak at Edmonton Institution has seen 21 inmates test positive for COVID-19 so far.

In a statement Tuesday, the Correctional Service of Canada said it was "closely monitoring the situation, and measures are in place to minimize spread of the virus within the institution."

The outbreak, declared Jan. 27, is the first at the maximum-security facility in northeast Edmonton.

CSC did not say if any employee cases had been connected to the outbreak.

On Jan. 24, more than two dozen employees of the prison were at home because of COVID-19, according to CSC. However, a union leader told CTV News Edmonton all employee cases were instances of off-site transmission. The shortage of available staff was believed to be part of the reason why inmates had been kept in their cell for sometimes more than 23 hours in a day in January. Lawyers representing inmates at the prison said the conditions were not only a human rights issue, but creating a "pressure cooker" of stress and aggression.

Twenty-two inmates at the women's prison had tested positive in a COVID-19 outbreak there, as of Jan. 30.