Tom Davidson | Tribune-Review
Chet Harhut, deputy manager of the Allegheny County Election’s Division, at the Allegheny County election warehouse in October 2020.
Tom Davidson | Tribune-Review
Chet Harhut, deputy manager of the Allegheny County Election’s Division, at the Allegheny County election warehouse in October 2020.
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Election clerks are still needed in six municipalities and three of Pittsburgh’s wards, but most positions at polling places are filled and workers have been trained, Allegheny County Administrative Services Deputy Director Jessica Garofolo told the elections board Tuesday.
Jails check for a lot of things when processing someone who has been arrested.
Suspects are checked for weapons or other potentially dangerous items. They are checked for contraband such as drugs. They are photographed, fingerprinted, patted down and looked over.
During the course of a stay in jail, there can be spot checks, cell inspections and close observation of everything from visits to mail.
Everything about a jail is designed to be vigilant and often invasive.
So why draw the line at a covid-19 test?
Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam made a motion at a Thursday meeting of the county jail oversight board to do universal testing at the facility.
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The number of inmates at Allegheny County Jail who are positive for covid-19 has doubled in the last week.
As of Sunday, 76 inmates were positive for the novel coronavirus, with another 27 tests pending, according to the county’s website.
Also on Monday, six pods at the jail were in full isolation, while another nine were operating under quarantine, according to an email obtained by the Tribune-Review.
Shaun Conroy, 31, of Homestead, is a pod worker at the jail. He believes he contracted the virus from a correctional officer who came to work sick two days in a row. During those shifts, Conroy said the officer looked pale and coughed repeatedly with her mask down.
The situation that led to the bologna dinner was caused by a kitchen staff shortage, which was caused by quarantining for possible covid-19 exposures.
As of Monday, the jail had 28 inmates who are currently infected with covid-19. Sixty-two workers have tested positive for the virus, since the pandemic began. Of those, 46 workers have recovered. County Spokeswoman Amie Downs declined to say how many inmates were in quarantine.
According to a written statement by Warden Orlando Harper, incarcerated people who worked in the jail’s kitchen had to be quarantined.
“Throughout the weekend, two of the three pods that work in the kitchen had inmates exhibiting symptoms and as a precautionary measure, no one on those pods were allowed to work their shifts,” Harper said.