Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has survived his bout with coronavirus, overcoming a fever and cough, and has been released from his 14-day quarantine, sources exclusively told DailyMail.com.

He had been placed in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 in mid-March at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison east of Buffalo, New York.

He's being held in the prison's residential mental health unit, where he remains on suicide watch, a prison official said on Thursday.

A source close to the disgraced movie mogul said he's surprised Weinstein survived, given his age and poor health. The 68-year old suffers from high blood pressure, heart problems, severe diabetes and a spine condition.

'We lost contact with him and were unable to get in touch with him after he tested positive because he was placed in isolation and under quarantine,' the source told DailyMail.com.

'He had a fever and cough. The man is in poor health normally speaking, and has multiple pre-existing conditions. Honestly, I was very concerned. I can't believe he made it through this. I was definitely thinking this would be the end of him.'

Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has survived his bout with coronavirus, overcoming a fever and cough, and has been released from his 14-day quarantine, sources exclusively told DailyMail.com on Thursday

He had been placed in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 in mid-March at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison east of Buffalo (pictured). He's being held in the prison's residential mental health unit, where he remains on suicide watch, a prison official said

HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S AILING HEALTH From the start, Weinstein's use of a walker to get in and out of court each day at his trial raised questions about his health. He left court in an ambulance after the guilty verdict and detoured to Bellevue Hospital, complaining of chest pains and high blood pressure. Weinstein later had a stent inserted to unblock an artery. After his sentencing, he returned with more chest pains. In addition to the heart issues, Weinstein's lawyers have said he was also dealing with the ramifications of unsuccessful back surgery stemming from a car crash last summer and a condition that requires shots in his eyes so he does not go blind. Advertisement

Weinstein is serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault.

Last month, Weinstein is said to have told prison staff he believed he had the virus when he entered the state prison system from notorious Rikers Island where a number of inmates have the virus.

A state correction official confirmed March 22 that Weinstein was one of two inmates at Wende to test positive.

Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo is six hours by car from Manhattan.

It was due to be a temporary stop for Weinstein before he was due to be evaluated to determine which state prison facility meets his security, medical, mental health and other needs.

Weinstein's spokesman had called the move to the prison 'harsh.'

The Oscar-winning producer of 'Shakespeare in Love' was sentenced last month to 23 years in a landmark #MeToo case.

He received 20 years on the criminal sex act charge for forcibly performing oral sex on production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006. He was sentenced to three years for third degree rape for a 2013 attack on Jessica Mann.

Weinstein's attorney Donna Rotunno has suggested that he will now die in prison, saying after his sentencing that he 'won't see the light of day.'

He spent several days in the hospital after his conviction with different ailments. Weinstein showed up to his sentencing in a wheelchair. Within hours of the hearing, he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan with chest pains.

The shamed producer returned to Rikers before being transferred upstate.

It'll be 20 years before he will be eligible for parole.

He also faces charges in Los Angeles where prosecutors filed a separate set of sexual assault charges against Weinstein in January.

The 68-year old suffers from high blood pressure, heart problems, severe diabetes and a spine condition. A source told DailyMail.com: 'Honestly, I was very concerned. I can't believe he made it through this. I was definitely thinking this would be the end of him.' Pictured: The most recent photo of Weinstein as he's taken from a Manhattan courthouse after being sentenced to 23 years in prison

Last month, Weinstein is said to have told prison staff he believed he had the virus when he entered the state prison system from notorious Rikers Island (pictured) where a number of inmates have the virus.

Twitter users reacted to Weinstein's coronavirus result, questioning how he was able to get the test so quickly.

Shortages in tests coupled with the fact a number of the kits do not work, has hampered nationwide screening.

There are 'acute, serious shortages across the board' for supplies needed to do the tests, said Eric Blank, of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which represents state and local health labs.

The board overseeing New York City's jails urged officials to start releasing vulnerable populations and those being held on low-level offenses after the coronavirus outbreak hit the notorious Rikers Island complex.

'Fewer people in the jails will save lives and minimize transmission among people in custody as well as staff,' Board of Correction interim chairwoman Jacqueline Sherman wrote in a letter to New York's criminal justice leaders this weekend.

'Failure to drastically reduce the jail population threatens to overwhelm the City jails' healthcare system as well its basic operations.'

An FDNY Ambulance with its emergency lights on is seen at Rikers Island Prison where rapist Harvey Weinstein was apparently taken from Belleview Hospital

Sherman pushed for the release of more than 2,000 people in custody in New York City jails, including those over 50 years old; those with health conditions such as lung and heart disease; those being held for parole violations, such as missing a curfew; and those serving sentences of less than a year.

Such steps are needed, she said, to stem the tide of COVID-19.

More than 2.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States — more than anywhere in the world — and there are growing fears that an outbreak could spread rapidly through a vast network of federal and state prisons, county jails and detention centers.

It's a tightly packed, fluid population that is already grappling with high rates of health problems and, when it comes to the elderly and the infirm, elevated risks of serious complications.

With limited capacity nationally to test for COVID-19, men and women inside worry that they are last in line when showing flu-like symptoms, meaning that some may be infected without knowing it.