Disgraced film producer placed in isolation at correctional facility in New York state

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

Harvey Weinstein, the former film producer who is serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, has tested positive for coronavirus.

The 68-year-old American has been placed in isolation at Wende correctional facility in New York state, said Michael Powers, the president of the state’s Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

Powers said he learned the test came back positive on Sunday morning and was concerned about the corrections officers, who he said lack proper protective equipment. Several staff have been quarantined, Powers said.

Weinstein arrived at Wende correctional facility, a maximum security prison east of Buffalo, on Wednesday after being housed at New York City’s Rikers Island jail.

He was sentenced to 23 years in prison on 11 March for sexually assaulting the former production assistant Miriam Haley and raping a woman whom the Guardian is not naming because her wishes over identification are not clear.

Following the sentencing, Weinstein spent time at Bellevue hospital in Manhattan for heart problems, according to his spokesman, Juda Engelmayer. He also has other medical issues, including diabetes and high blood pressure.

A lawyer for Weinstein said on Sunday night his legal team had not been notified of the coronavirus diagnosis. “Given Mr Weinstein’s state of health, we are of course concerned, if this is the case, and we are vigilantly monitoring the situation,” said the lawyer Imran Ansari, who is based in New York.

The Niagara Gazette, a local newspaper in upstate New York, reported Weinstein had tested positive for the highly contagious virus earlier on Sunday, citing anonymous officials.

Two prisoners at the Wende facility have tested positive for Covid-19, a state prison official told Reuters. The official said he could not comment on any individual prisoner’s medical record.

The official told Reuters that, with each confirmed case, the department of corrections works with the department of health to identify potentially exposed people.

Mark David Chapman, who murdered Beatle John Lennon in 1980, served some of his time at Wende, as did Robert Chambers, dubbed the “Preppie killer”, who strangled 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in Central Park in New York in 1986.

Weinstein’s conviction was hailed as a victory for the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct by powerful men.

More than 100 women, including a number of famous actors, accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades. He has denied the allegations, saying any sex was consensual.

Weinstein also faces separate sexual assault charges in Los Angeles.