COVID-19 positive cases

The ministry says the inmates were exposed to the virus before going into custody.

They are being managed appropriately to avoid any chance for the virus to spread to the wider prison population, it says.

It says there is no evidence of transmission at this stage.

Nationwide, 67 percent of prisoners have received their first dose and 50 percent are fully vaccinated.

The Corrections Department has been approached for the actual numbers of those in custody with Covid-19.

Hundreds more passengers who travelled on the MS Roald Amundsen are in quarantine and awaiting test results, the company that owns the ship said.

The ship, which belongs to the Norwegian firm Hurtigruten, docked in the port of Tromso in northern Norway on Friday.

Hurtigruten has halted all leisure cruises because of the outbreak.

"This is a serious situation for everyone involved. We have not been good enough and we have made mistakes," Chief Executive Daniel Skjeldamsaid in a statement on Monday.