York County Prison halts visitors over holiday and cracks down on COVID precautions

York County Prison is facing a visitor lockdown as COVID cases are on the rise in the facility, with 100 inmates currently testing positive. 

The prison halted regular visits on Thanksgiving as COVID numbers were on the rise to ensure the safety of 971 inmates. The numbers peaked yesterday, with more than 14 percent of inmates testing positive — about 140 inmates. 

On Dec. 2, the numbers are down to just over 10 percent of inmates. According to Warden Adam Ogle, the figures will change daily. 

Ogle wrote in a statement that the York County Prison has been following CDC guidelines since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as adhering to recommendations from the state Department of Health, Department of Corrections and Prime Care Medical, Inc, experts in correctional healthcare. 

More:Low reports of prison staff COVID-19 shots leave vulnerability on both sides of the wire

More:'Genuinely a good dude': York County Prison guard set to retire. Then he contracted COVID.

Inmates and staff have been required to wear masks since the beginning of the pandemic. With the rise in national COVID numbers, all staff are required to wear KN-95 rated masks, which according to the CDC is the gold standard for protection against the virus. 

Nationally, prisons are prone to large COVID outbreaks. With flu season and a new virus variant on America's doorstep, the numbers are likely to rise again. 

According to The COVID Prison Project, a group of data researchers aggregating federal prison system data on how the pandemic is affecting prison systems, there have been 440,611 positive inmate tests and 2,663 deaths nationally as of Tuesday. 

In Pennsylvania, there have been 12,112 positive inmate tests and 142 deaths as of Tuesday.