The Western Advocate understands the inmate came from Dubbo and entered the jail around August 22, well before the correctional centre was locked down on August 30 following an outbreak there.

It is understood the inmate returned a positive test to the virus on day 12 - which would have made it last week.

The inmate, as per Corrective Services COVID-19 protocol, has been transferred to Silverwater Correctional Complex, where positive inmates are kept separate from the rest of the prison population.

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Justice Health has previously said moving inmates to a central location ensures their care can be properly managed and they can be near a tertiary hospital if needed.

Bathurst Correctional Centre remains locked down as a result of the recent outbreak.

Kenny Spring Solicitors principal Angus Edwards said the situation within jails remains highly concerning.

Likening the outbreak at Bathurst Correctional Centre, where at least eight staff have also tested positive, to last year's Ruby Princess debacle, he said the problems were largely preventable.

"I think the situation in the jails is concerning for a number of reasons; the fact prison officers haven't been prioritised for vaccination is really astonishing," he said. "Likewise with the prison population."

He said it didn't make sense to have people who lived in such close proximity to each other not vaccinated.

Mr Edwards said it was clearly not a popular political decision to send vaccines to jails, but said it was vital from a health perspective given a large percentage of the population are either Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander.

"The risk of super-spreading events and enormous breakouts like we've seen in Parklea were clearly foreseeable. People would be rightly concerned having gone through the Ruby Princess experience where the outbreak wasn't contained," he said.

"It seems those lessons have not been learnt."

He said while rapid testing of inmates had been announced recently, the question is "why wasn't that happening, and why were prisoners being moved around the state without adequate testing in place".

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