SCI Phoenix Now Has 11 Cases Of Coronavirus

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — As the state announced plans Friday to release certain qualifying non-violent offenders, the number of coronavirus cases at SCI Phoenix has risen to 11.

All of those positive cases are inmates. No corrections staff members at SCI Phoenix have tested positive, officials said.

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The first case in the facility was announced back on March 30, when an inmate tested positive. At the time, officials traced all inmates and staff who had contact with the inmate, and monitored them for symptoms.

That inmate, who had underlying health conditions, was taken to isolation in the prison's infirmary for further treatment.

That case led the the entire state prison system to go under quarantine. On Friday, Gov. Wolf ordered the Department of Corrections to release around 1,800 qualifying non-violent offenders in an effort to minimize the prison population amid the outbreak.

>>PA To Release Around 1,800 Non-Violent Inmates From State Prison

No other state correctional facilities have yet reported positives.

Montgomery County Correctional Facility has reduced their intake level significantly, and their overall numbers have dropped from 1,342 to 1,086, Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said Thursday. Though the county has not instituted a program quite like the state one, they have used early parole, electronic monitoring, deferral of sentencing, and administrative penalties for nonviolent crimes to limit the population.

No Montgomery County Correctional Facility inmates are known to have coronavirus, though three corrections officers have tested positive.

All told, Montgomery County has seen 49 deaths from coronavirus and 1,502 cases as of Friday morning.

>>>Full coverage of coronavirus in Pennsylvania