Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus, days after he started his 23-year prison sentence for rape, the Niagara Gazette reported on Sunday.
Weinstein is being isolated at Wende Correctional Facility in Western New York, officials connected to the state prison system said, and is one of two inmates there who has tested positive.
The sources said that Weinstein probably had the coronavirus when he arrived at the prison last Wednesday.
During his trial, Weinstein spent time at both Rikers Island jail and a New York City hospital, where he received treatment for high blood pressure and chest pains.
At least 40 inmates at Rikers have reportedly been found positive for coronavirus, according to Deadline.
This comes as the pandemic has hit New York particularly hard, making the state’s 43,000 prisoners increasingly seen as a high-risk category.
New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association President Michael Powers told the Niagara Gazette he was unable to comment on the report about Wenistein due to privacy laws concerning the health records of prisoners.
However, Powers said "There is no better breeding ground for this virus than a closed environment such as a correctional facility" and that the union has pressed the state to halt all "non essential" transfers of inmates from one facility to another during the pandemic.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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