Number of Luzerne County prison workers testing positive for coronavirus rises to 13

Since last Thursday, the number of Luzerne County Correctional Facility employees testing positive for coronavirus has increased from five to 13, according to an update county Manager C. David Pedri emailed to county council.

All impacted prison employees are in quarantine along with 26 other employees who were in close prolonged contact with them, Pedri’s Tuesday update said.

There are no reported inmate cases of COVID-19 at this time, he said.

The county judiciary has postponed all in-person inmate transports for court proceedings, he said.

“The 13 positive employees are experiencing a range of symptoms, but thankfully as I write this, none are hospitalized,” Pedri wrote.

While the temporary absence of 39 employees has placed a “strain on the workforce,” county Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich has been working closely with the prison union, LIUNA Local 1310, to “maintain safe staffing levels,” Pedri wrote.

Pedri had informed county council of the first case in an email one week ago, saying that employee last worked at the county prison on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre on Oct. 2.

Following protocol implemented early in the pandemic, new inmates are segregated and undergo medical observation for 14 days before they are released into the general population.

Attempting to free up space for this purpose, county attorneys and the court had launched an effort to release non-violent offenders with low-level charges, including nonpayment of child support and minor drug possession, officials said.

In March, at the start of the pandemic, the average daily population was 668 at the prison and nearby Reichard Street minimum offenders building, also in Wilkes-Barre. By June, the average daily population was down to 385.

Because the population has started climbing back up to an average 479 in September, court officials are once again assessing if there are any inmates who can be released because they are eligible for parole or awaiting trial for minor crimes on bails that can reevaluated, county Court of Common Pleas President Judge Michael T. Vough said last week.

In addition, Pedri cited these precautions:

• The work areas of all impacted employees have been thoroughly cleaned.

• There is no public admission into the prison system at this time, and all nonessential groups have been cancelled.

• All contractors have been suspended from entering the facility.

• Attorneys may visit their clients through glass-partitioned visiting booths or, if requested, in visitation rooms with personal protective equipment required for both the inmate and attorney.