Two guards at the Westmoreland County Prison tested positive for coronavirus and the Hempfield jail was placed on lockdown status Wednesday.

“The prison continues to follow all appropriate and currently recommended protocols to mitigate the spread of covid-19 to keep the employees and prison population safe,” according to a statement released by county commissioners. “These measures include masking, daily screening, restricting in-person visitation and quarantining new commitments. As an additional precaution, the housing units have been placed on lockdown with no movements in or out of the cells, except for medical reasons and video conferencing.”

Officials said both guards reported their positive tests on Wednesday. One had not been at the jail since Sept. 24 and the other was last at the facility on Oct. 3. Contact tracing among staff and inmates is ongoing.

Wednesday’s cases were the first infections among the jail staff.

Two inmates this summer tested positive for the virus, but county officials said both had been newly incarcerated and were isolated in quarantine cells. Neither had contact with other inmates.

It is unclear how the positive tests and jail lockdown will impact future court proceedings. At least one inmate was transferred to the courthouse Wednesday morning for his trial on a count of drug delivery resulting in death and related offenses.

The county did not indicate if additional staff or inmates would be tested for the virus. Commissioners and jail officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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