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.
Allegheny County Jail officials defended their handling of the covid-19 pandemic during Thursday’s oversight board meeting.
Chief Deputy Warden Laura Williams told the board that there have been 2,163 inmates tested at the jail since March 2020. Of those, 287 have tested positive.
According to Williams, 42 inmates are currently positive, and there are 162 tests pending.
The number of positive cases jumped significantly in late February, and advocates for incarcerated people criticized the jail for not implementing universal testing.
They cited recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in December, which suggested testing asymptomatic people in correctional facilities.
However, Williams said on Thursday that the CDC “recommendations also indicate that the considerations for broad testing need to be practical.”
Paula Reed Ward
Courtesy Chavail Futrell
Chavail Futrell showing what she says are bite marks from a rat when she was held at the Allegheny County Jail.
TribLIVE s Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.
Chavail Futrell got picked up on a bench warrant for missing court and was held at Allegheny County Jail on Feb. 8.
Even though there were holds on her for minor drug charges out of Allegheny and Fayette counties, both were lifted by Feb. 10.
Still, Futrell, 35, wasn’t released.
Instead, she said that while she was sleeping on the floor of her cold cell on the fourth floor of the jail in the early morning hours of Feb. 12, a rat bit her left hand.
Terrell Leonard is being held at Allegheny County Jail on a probation violation.
In late January, he learned that one of the correctional officers who worked on his pod, 2D, tested positive for covid-19.
A short time later, he said in a court declaration, pod workers and then inmates on his pod started to experience symptoms as well.
By Feb. 1, Leonard, 28, who has sleep apnea, a deviated septum and allergies, said he developed a fever, sore throat and hot and cold sweats. Within two days, he said he had lost his sense of taste and smell, had body aches and difficulty breathing.
90.5 WESA s The Confluence for Monday, February 8, 2021
On today s program: Pittsburgh Public Schools Board President Sylvia Wilson explains why she abstained on a vote to consider closing buildings, and what might happen next; PublicSource reporter Juliette Rihl found the Allegheny County Jail uses restraint chairs twice as often as any other county facility in the Commonwealth; and a Pittsburgh promoter and concert producer offers her take on how the pandemic is affecting the local music scene following Congress earmarking funds to help ease financial strain.
PPS Board President Sylvia Wilson says there should be more collaboration to fill the budget deficit