In-person visitations at all of Pennsylvania’s state prisons, including two in Centre County, will be suspended through Feb. 28 as the Department of Corrections faces staffing shortages resulting from an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The suspension will go into effect on Thursday, according to a DOC news release.
Acting Secretary of Corrections George Little said in a statement on Monday that staffing levels have been “significantly impacted” over the past two months by the surge in COVID-19 cases experienced statewide and nationally. The suspension “will allow facilities to more effectively allocate staff,” he added.
“Even when symptoms are mild, quarantine requirements for COVID-positive staff and close contacts of those who have tested positive have led to an increased reliance on voluntary and mandated overtime that is not sustainable,” Little said.
Availability of no-cost video visits will be increased and inmates will be provided cable television at no cost in February, according to the release.
Recreation and education programs will not be impacted but some services may be modified by individual facilities to promote physical distancing.
“We recognize the stress a suspension of in-person visitation may place on incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, and we will work to mitigate those issues,” Little said. “This is a temporary measure to ensure critical positions in our facilities remain staffed.”
When onsite visitations resume, visitors 12 and older will be required to provide proof of vaccination.
Systemwide, state prisons have 801 active COVID-19 cases among corrections staff, including 23 at Benner state prison and 53 at Rockview, as of Monday morning.
According to DOC’s COVID-19 dashboard, 8,021 corrections employees, or 50.6%, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 7,841 are not vaccinated. At Benner, 306 are fully vaccinated and 321 are not vaccinated, while at Rockview 343 are fully vaccinated 374 are not
There are 1,608 active cases among the 36,244 inmates systemwide. Benner currently has four inmate cases and Rockview has 57.
Statewide, about 90% of inmates are fully vaccinated, 1% are partially vaccinated and 9% are not vaccinated
A total of 155 inmate deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, including 10 at Benner and two at Rockview.
