Coronavirus cases at Westmoreland County Prison continue to decline.
Warden Bryan Kline said Monday that just five inmates are currently infected with the virus, the lowest number of positive cases the Hempfield lockup has seen in several months. There were 542 inmates in the jail on Monday.
“Our visitation and programs have resumed,” Kline said.
Coronavirus cases in January at the jail surged in January and late in the month officials reported about 40% of the facility’s inmates had tested tested positive for the virus. As a result in-person visits were halted and the transportation of inmates to court proceedings at the courthouse at local magistrate offices was temporarily suspended.
Over the last several weeks case totals eased. Inmate transfers resumed Feb. 8.
As of Monday, 319 inmates were vaccinated at the jail, Kline said. About 30% of the current inmate population is vaccinated.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, case totals throughout Westmoreland County has declined. The county recorded 162 new cases on Feb. 25, but that figure was an outlier over last week when no other day saw more than 62 new cases recorded. The state reported that just 40 new cases were diagnosed in Westmoreland County last weekend.
