Three Pennsylvania prisoners died of COVID-19 this weekend

Sam Ruland
York Daily Record

Several Pennsylvania prisoners have died of complications tied to COVID-19, according to reports released from the Department of Corrections this weekend.

A 77-year-old inmate reportedly with pre-existing conditions died Friday at a Clearfield County hospital, the DOC said. The man was five years into serving a 10- to-20-year sentence for aggravated indecent assault of a child. He was at Smithfield prison in Huntingdon County when he contracted COVID-19.

He had been at Smithfield since Oct. 13, 2015.

On the same day, a 75-year-old inmate died from the coronavirus in Mercer state prison in Mercer County. He was serving a 25- to-50-year sentence, for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, since Aug. 2016.

The third death of the weekend came on Saturday when a 38-year-old inmate at Pine Grove state prison in Indiana County died from the virus. He had been transferred to a local hospital before succumbing to the illness. The man had been in Pine Grove since Jan. 8, 2019 serving a sentence of 1 ½ to five years for receiving stolen property.

The three men were not named. However, each of the their deaths were the first inmate deaths from the coronavirus at Mercer, Pine Grove and Smithfield prisons.

"We continue our battle against this dangerous invisible enemy," Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said. 

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So far, 36 inmates and two staff members have died from the coronavirus, according to the DOC’s COVID-19 dashboard. And of the 39,214 inmates in Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institutions, 1,766 of them have the coronavirus.

Inmates who test positive for the virus are placed in isolation at their prison or local hospitals, depending on the level of medical care needed. Employees who test positive must isolate at their homes and cannot return to work until they provide a doctor’s note clearing them to return, according to a statement from the DOC.

"We are experiencing the same thing that our counties are experiencing, and we are following very strict procedures to mitigate the virus’ impact on our state prisons," Wetzel said. "I’ve directed our staff to act aggressively and quickly when inmates report influenza-like illnesses, and that includes isolating and quarantining inmates, locking down units or entire prisons as needed, conducting regular cleanings and even 72-hour deep cleanings in order to protect staff and inmates."

Pennsylvania is one of only six states where the COVID-19 death rate in prison is lower than the state’s community COVID death rate, according to a recent study by the Council on Criminal Justice.

"With fall upon us, we are experiencing a resurgence," Wetzel said. "That is why it is vital to continue our aggressive mitigation efforts. We cannot let our guard down."

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