Blair County Prison staffer positive for virus

Report: No known exposure to facility’s inmate population

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- An employee at the Blair County Prison has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting that employee and other employees who may have been exposed to begin observing 14-day quarantines.

The commissioners' office, in an announcement distributed Sunday, reported no known inmate exposure.

However, because the prison employee tested positive, commissioners declared that personnel at all county work sites, including the courthouse, will need to follow temperature-taking protocols before entering. That action was included in a plan previously reviewed, with the responsibility assigned to sheriff's deputies who staff the Allegheny Street entrance.

Also because of the prison employee testing positive for COVID-19, the prison has again halted inmate visitations, Warden Abbie Tate said Monday.

After months without visitation because of COVID-19, the county prison restored visits, with restrictions, in late July.

PrimeCare Medical, the company that provides inmate medical care, has introduced procedures and protocols to limit the potential exposure to COVID-19 for inmates.

The company's procedures include regular temperature checks and monitoring for symptoms, according to a statement from the commissioners' office.

Tate also has reported in recent monthly prison board meetings about increased efforts to sanitize the facility.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.