This Pennsylvania county has seen a sharp spike in coronavirus cases this week

In one of the least populated, most rural counties of Pennsylvania, the coronavirus has spiked sharply just this week.

The high number of cases in Forest County center on the state prison located there. The county, which as no hospitals within its bounds, is southeast of Erie with a population of less than 8,000 people.

Among the inmate population of about 2,300 at the State Correctional Institute Forest, there are 858 positive, active cases of the coronavirus and another 24 active cases among the employees, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. 

Richard Parrett, the Forest County emergency services director, is worried about it.

"I guess my concern is all the employees there at SCI Forest. They don’t necessarily live here in town, but they stop in the stores here in town on the way to work and the way home," said Parrett, who also serves on the local Marienville fire department and is one of three Jenks Township supervisors.

The prison is separating positive and negative cases by housing units.

"They are monitoring all of the positive cases to determine if any higher level of care is needed, they are providing higher level of care to any symptomatic inmates who need it, and they continue to work to protect the vulnerable inmate population," said Maria Bivens, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

All areas of the facility are sanitized "multiple times per day," she said. "In addition, they continue to operate the entire facility on an enhanced quarantine schedule at this time to protect the staff and inmate population."   

Of the active, positive cases, one inmate is on a "higher level of care at the facility," but none are hospitalized or on respiratory aids, she said. The prison reports three deaths due to the coronavirus since the pandemic's start.

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Parrett is working on a mass vaccination plan for the county, planned for February, but the numbers are multiplying quickly. While the county's population is small, the percentage of senior citizens is high, he said.

"Well, the numbers have been going up at SCI Forest. We have a youth drug rehab facility, and their numbers are climbing. And there’s a nursing facility in Marienville, and their numbers are climbing," Parrett said. "It’s my understanding that SCI Forest has their own vaccination plan up there too."

The spike in cases in Forest County has given it more state attention, Parrett said, and the plans for vaccinating the population are in place.

"It's just a matter of the vaccine and the amount of vaccine available," said Parrett, who has already received his first dose because he works with the fire department.

Here are the numbers from the Department of Corrections for SCI Forest regarding inmates (2,295 as of December 2020):

• Total positive cases: 920
• Total active positive cases: 858
• Recovered: 59
• Asymptomatic: 824
• Deaths: 3

Among the staff of 666 at SCI Forest: 

• Total positive cases:129
• Total active cases: 24
• Recovered: 105

An attempt to reach SCI Forest's director was unsuccessful.

Bivens said: "Any inmate whose next-of-kin/emergency contact would need to be contacted due to a poor prognosis or for medical decision making would be contacted.  At this time, we have no inmates meeting that criteria. Inmates are able to communicate with their families via telephone, virtual visits, and GTL email messaging."

Kim Strong can be reached at kstrong@gannett.com.