HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel announced Thursday that state prisons will extend the suspension of inmate visitation and continue the use of employee screenings indefinitely as the COVID-19 outbreak continues.
The policy will be in place until the Disaster Emergency declared by Gov. Tom Wolf is terminated, Wetzel said.
To offset the lack of visits for inmates, DOC officials implemented video visitation and are providing inmates with additional free phone calls and emails, Wetzel said.
The DOC is under a systemwide quarantine to protect inmates and staff.
“We are closely monitoring our entire system and individual facilities daily,” Wetzel said. “While we now have seven cases confined to one state prison, we continue our efforts to mitigate the virus’ impact on our system and protect our employees and inmates across the state."
Wetzel also commended all corrections employees who report for work daily.
“I almost tear up thinking about our staff coming to work every day and walking into these facilities when the easy path is to stay home. They truly are heroes,” he said.
