Berks County prison sees outbreak of cases

Until now, the Berks County Prison has fared well in the fight against the coronavirus.

That changed this week when the number of confirmed cases at the facility spiked.

Commissioner Kevin Barnhardt, chairman of the county prison board, confirmed Thursday there has been an outbreak of cases at the Bern Township facility. He said that as of Thursday the prison had a total of 39 active cases — 21 among the inmates and 18 among those who work there.

He said there were 706 inmates assigned to the prison as of Thursday.

The recent spike accounts for more than 37% of inmate cases at the prison since March 2020. It accounts for nearly 30% of total staff cases.

Barnhardt said the prison has been aggressively working to contact trace, group together inmates who have tested positive to isolate them from the rest of the population and limit movement within the facility. He added that this has been the standard procedure when cases have been discovered in the past.

“All relevant partners involved in the criminal justice system have been informed of the situation,” he said in an emailed statement. “And all are assisting in lessening the need for inmate transports and have been extremely helpful in mitigating the situation.”

Barnhardt said required mass

COVID testing for staff will be completed at the end of the day. And he revealed that so far no one who has been infected has had to be hospitalized for treatment.

He said the county has encouraged its workers, including those at the prison, to get a COVID vaccine when they become eligible to receive one. However, the county has not made them mandatory.