AceShowbiz - Lori Loughlin's husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, has been released from solitary confinement in prison after spending almost two months in a small, single cell.

Giannulli began his five-month punishment at The Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc in California on 19 November (20), but was moved into quarantine days later after exposure to other inmates with COVID-19.

He spent America's Thanksgiving Day, as well as the Christmas and New Year holidays, in solitary, and last week (14Jan21), his lawyers filed an emergency motion requesting their client be granted permission to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, due to the "significant" damage isolation had had on his "mental, physical, and emotional well-being."

A ruling on the matter has yet to be made, but on Tuesday (19Jan21), federal prosecutors explained Giannulli was kept in solitary confinement after initially reporting he was suffering from a headache and the loss of his sense of smell, both noted symptoms of COVID-19.

He was regularly tested for the virus, and after his latest negative test result on 13 January, he was moved "to the adjacent minimum security camp," where he is allowed outdoors for 12 hours a day, authorities stated.

According to Us Weekly, prosecutors have also made it clear they oppose his lawyers' request to be moved into home confinement, claiming any kind of early release from prison will be "widely publicized, thereby undermining the deterrent effect of the sentence."

Both Loughlin and Giannulli were sentenced to prison time, community service, and fined last August (20) after pleading guilty to offering up bribes to help their two daughters score places at the University of Southern California (USC).

The "Full House" actress began her two-month sentence on 30 October and was released just after Christmas.