10 Allegheny County Jail employees test positive for covid, 50 in quarantine

Ten Allegheny County Jail employees tested positive for coronavirus since Saturday and another 50 are quarantining after they were identified as close contacts, officials said Monday.

Officials said the cases are the result of community transmission — not exposures in the workplace.

“While these steps will impact staffing levels at the facility, we have worked with the union leadership to ensure the proper staffing to maintain the safety and security of all inmates and employees,” said Warden Orlando Harper in a statement. “We are confident that these measures will ensure the necessary levels of staffing for the continued security of the facility.”

Harper insisted that employees and inmates are wearing masks, washing hands and remaining physically distanced, and other health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health are being followed.

Since March, 38 inmates at the Allegheny County Jail tested positive for coronavirus, out of 645 tests. All inmates that had tested positive have been released or have recovered, and there are currently no covid-positive inmates in the jail, officials said.

Thirty-three employees tested positive in the same time frame, out of 174 who have been tested. Of those, 21 have recovered.

“We will enforce and reinforce all recommendations,” Harper said. “These measures have been upheld by our hardworking, essential employees and dedicated staff. They work continuously to ensure the safe management of this facility and all those who are in it and we are confident that they will continue to do so.”