A COVID-19 outbreak at Sydney's Villawood Immigration Detention Centre is growing, as refugee advocates fear the virus will "run rampant" inside the facility.
The Australian Border Force (ABF) said late on Thursday it is aware of 18 detainees at the detention centre who have tested positive - up from .
Spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition Ian Rintoul said his informal sources inside the centre suggested the number of potentially positive cases could be as high as 68.
"We [have not been] able to confirm that number, but that number is what is circulating inside the detention centre as the number of cases that have been indicated as positive," he told SBS News on Wednesday.
An ABF spokesperson did not respond to questions about this figure on Thursday.
Mr Rintoul claimed there is a lack of information about "what is actually happening, what [are] the dynamics of the outbreak inside the detention facility".
"The public and, in particular, people who are in Villawood need to know, should know and have accurate information about what is happening with the COVID outbreak there," he said.
He said the number of positive cases is increasing "as expected" and there are fears the outbreak could intensify.
"As it stands at the moment, the virus is simply going to run rampant inside Villawood," he said.
Principal Solicitor from the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, Sarah Dale, said she holds "deep concerns" for those who remain in detention in facilities across the nation.
"In Australia, we have been deeply concerned by something that would happen like we've seen now at Villawood. Like we saw previously in Melbourne. We have deep concerns for those who remain detained and the additional impacts a pandemic has on them," she told SBS News.
"They have no ability to protect themselves. They have no way to isolate. And they are left in these precarious situations in detention centres, which only affects their health and their mental health."
An ABF spokesperson said "the priority for the ABF is the health and safety of detainees and staff in immigration detention facilities".
"Standard departmental protocols are being followed in relation to a positive diagnosis including contact tracing, quarantining, testing and cleaning, in conjunction with the New South Wales public health unit," they said on Thursday.
"The ABF has implemented a range of preventative measures in accordance with the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) National Guidelines for the Prevention, Control and Public Health Management of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Correctional and Detention Facilities in Australia, and public health advice."
The spokesperson said all detainees continue to have ongoing access to medical professionals located within facilities, and that all detainees have been offered COVID-19 vaccinations.
The rollout of the vaccine program to consenting detainees started in early August last year.
In an earlier statement to SBS News, an ABF spokesperson said as of 9 January, 59 per cent of detainees across the immigration detention network were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and three per cent were partially vaccinated.
Mr Rintoul said anyone who has been identified as high risk inside Villawood should be removed from the centre and safely housed.
"I think that's the first measure that should be taken. The second is we need proper COVID protocols inside the detention facility to ensure that the virus isn't simply going to run rampant," he said.
into community detention where it is safe to do so.
"The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases has said people in detention who don't pose a significant security risk be released into the community immediately," then-Commissioner Edward Santow told SBS News at the time.
The calls were made in line with recommendations by peak medical bodies advising the federal government response to COVID-19.
At the time, to highlight their concerns.
Throughout the pandemic, Australian medical specialist groups, lawyers and human rights organisations have also warned about the threat immigration detention and 'alternative places of detention' such as hotels poses as coronavirus infection hotspots.
In October, an COVID-19 outbreak swept through Melbourne's Park Hotel, infecting almost half of detainees.
Tennis player Novak Djokovic was briefly detained there during a recent visa debacle. He was released after his visa cancellation was quashed by the Federal Court.
With additional reporting by Arianna Lucente and Phillippa Carisbrooke.
