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Harvey Weinstein Quarantined In Prison After Testing Positive For Coronavirus, Official Says
The disgraced film mogul has since been quarantined, as have multiple employees at New York facility where he’s in custody.
Disgraced Hollywood producer and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has contracted the coronavirus, officials say.
Weinstein, 68, is currently in custody at the Wende Correctional Facility in New York, where he tested positive for the virus, Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, confirmed to NBC News on Monday. Weinstein has since been quarantined, as have several staff members who had contact with him, Powers said.
Weinstein is one of two inmates at the facility who have tested positive, according to The Niagara Gazette, which first reported the news.
Weinstein was sentenced earlier this month to 23 years in prison after being convicted of third-degree rape and a criminal sex act. Prosecutors claimed that Weinstein forcibly performed a sex act on a woman at his apartment in 2006 and raped a woman in a hotel room in New York City in 2013; however, dozens of women, including actresses like Rose McGowan, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, and the allegations regarding his behavior sparked the #MeToo movement.
Powers was made aware that Weinstein tested positive on Sunday morning, Reuters reports. The diagnosis sparked concern for corrections officers at the facility because they do not have the equipment they need to protect themselves, Powers said.
“PPE [personal protective equipment] is vital for us in our facilities,” Powers told NBC News. “While a lot of people were working from home, we are keeping our community safe.”
Prior to being transported to the Wende Correctional Facility last week, Weinstein was housed at Riker’s Island and Bellevue Hospital in New York, where he was being treated due to various health issues, including chest pains and heart palpitations.
Weinstein’s representatives told NBC News on Sunday that they had not been made aware of Weinstein’s status. A lawyer for Weinstein made a similar statement to Reuters, remarking, “Given Mr. Weinstein’s state of health, we are of course concerned, if this is the case, and we are vigilantly monitoring the situation.”
