Vulnerable inmates should be released from prisons affected by coronavirus says the Tasmanian Prisoners Legal Service.
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The service's chairman Greg Barns said prisoners vulnerable to the virus, such as the elderly, should be removed from the prison in the event of an outbreak.
"There are a number of prisoners now who are well into their 70s and some in their 80s. Consideration ought be given to removing them from the prison and placing them in secure accommodation in the community," Mr Barns said.
"Your physical and mental health in prison is generally poor so it's a vulnerable group of people."
The Department of Justice has confirmed there are plans in place for Risdon Prison to deal with potential cases of the virus which include the assessment of inmates and visitors entering the facility.
The prison also has plans ready for if prisoners need to be quarantined.
READ MORE: Coronavirus plans in place at Risdon Prison
Mr Barns said quarantine measures for prisoners needed to be humane.
"If prisoners contract the coronavirus and are forced to be quarantined it would be unconscionable to quarantine them by simply locking them in their cells for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for two weeks," he said.
"It would simply be a case of torture.
"There ought to be quarantine facilitates established, spaces available ... but certainly not their cells."
If court proceedings were delayed because of the virus, Mr Barns said this should be taken into account in a person's sentence.
"If the courts are forced to close and people are not able to make bail applications, there ought to be an opportunity for those persons to have their sentenced reduced appropriately by the amount of time they were incarcerated and their case were delayed," he said.