In-person visits set to resume at Westmoreland prison as inmate vaccinations begin

In-person visits with inmates at the Westmoreland County Prison will resume in June as officials ease restrictions enacted last year during the coronavirus pandemic.

Inmates have been limited to video visits with friends and family as the coronavirus surged through the community and inside the Hempfield lockup. Warden Bryan Kline said starting June 1, the facility will move to more normal operations with the resumption of several in-house social service programs.

A week later, in-person visits and work release programs will restart.

“We will follow CDC guidelines,” Kline said Monday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced last week the resumption of in-person visits with inmates at five state prisons.

As of Monday, four Westmoreland County Prison inmates remain infected with the coronavirus. Since February, 104 inmates recovered from covid-19 infections during the second outbreak at the facility, Kline said. The jail’s first outbreak surfaced in late 2020, when more than 150 inmates and staffers contracted the virus.

During the last year, visitation was limited to video conferencing. For the last several months, the county provided every inmate with free weekly video visits. The free visits will continue through the end of July.

Although active coronavirus cases remain among a small number inmates, Kline said some restrictions will ease. New inmates will continue to be quarantined, but for a shorter period, from 14 to 10 days. Masks remain required for all inmates and staff. Temperature screenings will continue for everyone who enters the facility.

Coronavirus vaccinations were offered to all inmates last week. Kline said 165 inmates, about 35% of the jail’s population, were administered the first of a two-dose vaccine. Inmates who received their first dose will be administered second shots in two weeks. First doses will again be offered to inmates at that time.

“It is something I would like to see offered to inmates continuously,” Kline said.

County officials last month said inmates would be given a $25 credit to spend at the jail’s commissary for clothing, food, comfort items and telephone calling cards for accepting the vaccine. Those credits are paid for from profits generated by inmate purchases at the commissary.

Upon entering the facility, inmates are asked about their vaccination status, but Kline said data is still being compiled as to how many inmates may have been vaccinated before they were jailed.

The jail does not track the number of employees who have been vaccinated, Kline said.