Allegheny County Jail officials consider reinstating visitation
Allegheny County Jail officials are contemplating a return to in-person visitation as covid-19 cases drop there and across the region.
Warden Orlando Harper said Wednesday that there were only five positive cases at the facility as of Feb. 25. During Wednesday’s Jail Oversight Board meeting, Harper said he anticipated visits resuming within the next month if the low level of infections continues.
A draft policy on the jail’s website said that only fully vaccinated inmates will be permitted visitation. Right now, 44% of the jail population is fully vaccinated, officials said.
Similarly, those visiting the jail will only be permitted if they also are fully vaccinated and able to show proof of vaccination prior to their visit being approved.
A news release issued by the jail said administrators are working with the state Department of Corrections to establish a policy to make exceptions for those who cannot be vaccinated because of health reasons or for children under 5.
The draft policy said only three people at the jail will be able to visit at any given time. Visits will occur in every other booth to allow for social distancing.
The draft policy is available for public comment on the jail’s website.
The jail’s news release said its covid-19 testing policy also has been revised to reflect the decrease in community spread.
Those being taken into booking will continue to receive a rapid antigen test and, if the test is negative, they will be quarantined on an intake pod. At 10 days, they will then receive a PCR test and, if that test is negative, the person will be moved to the general population.
Anyone testing positive at intake will be placed in isolation on a designated housing unit.
“Use of the designated unit ensures that incarcerated individuals are able to receive showers, commissary and tablets during their period of isolation,” the jail said in the release.
Mandatory masking will continue.
The jail’s covid-19 dashboard shows that 479 inmates have tested positive. One person died. Among employees, 259 tested positive.
The news release said the facility also is planning to resume some in-person activities, including chaplaincy and re-entry programs.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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