Inmates throughout the Pennsylvania state prison system will largely be confined to their cells to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19, the state Department of Corrections announced Monday.

Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said he took action after an inmate at State Correctional Institution at Phoenix in Montgomery County contracted the new virus.

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“Quarantining the entire system is in the best interest of our employees and our inmates,” Wetzel said in a news release. “This is essentially forced social distancing. We must take this step to contain the virus to one facility and to keep it from spreading throughout the system.”

As of 10 p.m. Sunday, inmates are only allowed out of their cells for video visits, phone calls and access to the law library.

The Corrections Department incarcerates nearly 44,600 inmates in 25 state prisons.


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Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court was asked Monday to order the release of some inmates from county jails to help reduce the virus’s spread. The county jail system isn’t impacted by the Department of Corrections quarantine.

A petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said that tight inmate quarters, a lack of sanitation, and a limited ability to treat and quarantine people suspected of having COVID-19 presents an “extraordinary public health risk” to inmates, staff and surrounding communities.

Once COVID-19 enters a jail, it is “virtually certain to spread like wildfire through the prison population, correctional staff and into the nearby community,” the petition said.

The high court was asked to order the release of inmates at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19, as well as those nearing the end of their sentences, eligible for work release or held on cash bail before trial.

The plaintiffs are the Pennsylvania Prison Society, an advocacy group, along with five inmates, including two who say they have health conditions that elevate their risk of serious illness from the virus.

Other states, including New Jersey, Washington, Maine, Montana and South Carolina, have taken steps to reduce their jail populations, as have Allegheny, Lackawanna and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania.

The legal action was taken as Pike County officials announced Sunday that a staffer at the jail has tested positive for COVID-19. Inmates who had direct contact are under quarantine.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.