Westmoreland prison, manor register additional coronavirus cases

An additional seven guards and nine inmates have tested positive for coronavirus at the Westmoreland County Prison in Hempfield, bringing the total to 11 guards and 45 inmates.

The courts have halted transfer of inmates to the courthouse in Greensburg, according to county Solicitor Melissa Guiddy.

“All inmates will appear remotely for hearings at the present time, unless circumstances dictate otherwise,” Guiddy said.

All of the staff and inmates to test positive are from the same prison unit, which remains in lockdown, according to a county news release.

“The prison will continue to work with its contracted health care provider and implement the recommendations from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control to the extent feasible to continue prevention efforts,” the release reads.

In addition, three more residents and one more staff member have received positive tests at nearby Westmoreland Manor, where more than 140 residents and staff have come down with coronavirus since mid-September.

That brings the senior facility’s totals to 120 residents and 35 staff members.

“A majority of residents continue to remain asymptomatic or exhibit few symptoms,” according to a county news release.

Five residents are currently hospitalized, and five have died after contracting the illness at the 408-bed facility in Hempfield.

The first case prior to the outbreak at Westmoreland Manor was an employee who tested positive Sept. 19. Less than a week later, 47 residents and 12 employees had come down with covid-19, and county officials called in the National Guard to help administer tests and allow employees to focus on their normal job responsibilities.

At the prison, the first cases prior to the outbreak were two employees, announced Oct. 7, followed quickly by three inmates later that same week.

Earlier this summer, two recently-admitted inmates tested positive, but prison officials said both were kept in quarantine cells.