From Staff Reports
State and county prisons are facing COVID-19 outbreaks, with the state Department of Corrections and SCI Muncy officials report the first death of an inmate with COVID-19 on Monday.
The 62-year-old inmate, whose name will not be provided, was serving a 10- to 40-year sentence for burglary.
She had underlying medical conditions and was taken to the hospital on Jan. 20, a news release from the state Department of Corrections said. She tested positive for COVID-19 while at the hospital. She had been at SCI Muncy since April 2013.
“We are experiencing the same thing that our counties are experiencing, and we are following very strict procedures to mitigate the virus’ impact on our state prisons,” Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said, according to the news release. “I’ve directed our staff to act aggressively and quickly when inmates report influenza-like illnesses, and that includes isolating and quarantining inmates, locking down units or entire priso
Here’s who died by homicide in Dauphin County in 2020
Updated Jan 12, 2021;
Posted Jan 11, 2021
Police investigate a shooting in the 300 block of Hummel Street in Harrisburg, November 13, 2020.
Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com
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It was the deadliest year for Harrisburg in more than 30 years.
Twenty-two people died by homicide, up from 14 in 2019. So far, police have solved half of last year’s homicides. If you have information on an unsolved homicide, you can call Harrisburg police at 717-558-6900.
Here’s a look at the people lost to violence in 2020:
The body of Brian Hall was cremated and a memorial service occurred Feb. 1. His photos are framed at the lower left and right.
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Twenty-seven Westmoreland County Prison inmates tested positive for the coronavirus Monday as three units housing prisoners remained on lockdown, according to interim Warden George Lawther.
Inmates on the C, J and D units are able to shower, participate in recreation and make phone calls and video visits, but they are otherwise remaining in their cells as the outbreak that started in late November continues, Lawther said.
A lockdown of A unit was lifted last week.
The latest positive results bring the total number of inmates who have contracted the virus to 152, Lawther said. Officials plan to continue with testing and quarantining as needed. The construction of 24 negative-pressure cells at the Hempfield lockup is expected to be completed by Thursday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in April that a second round of coronavirus was “inevitable.”
“If by that time we have put into place all of the countermeasures that you need to address this, we should do reasonably well,” Fauci said at the time. “If we don’t do that successfully, we could be in for a bad fall and a bad winter.”
Pennsylvania, like many of the states around it, was in a lockdown for the first few months of the pandemic.
Brick and mortar schools were closed, replaced with online learning. Business categorized as nonessential were closed. Restaurants and bars were closed for dining, but takeout was available.
kstephens@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG About 90 Blair County Prison inmates who previously tested negative for COVID-19 are in the process of being tested again, Warden Abbie Tate told the county prison board Thursday.
With 132 inmates having tested positive for COVID-19, the county prison remains in what Tate calls a “modified lockdown,” which restricts inmate movement within the facility as a way to keep the coronavirus from spreading.
As new COVID-19 test results come back for the inmates who previously tested negative, the prison staff will evaluate the situation and decide if more out-of-cell time can be granted, Tate said.
In the meantime, the lockdown also means the prison and the county court will need to continue to rely on computerized video connections for inmates attempting to address criminal charges in court proceedings.