Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Coal Region Canary
Coal Region CanaryCoal Region Canary

Coronavirus in Pennsylvania

As New HVAC System Gets Installed, COVID Hits Schuylkill County Prison

schuylkill prison covid

schuylkill prison covid

Schuylkill County Prison officials didn’t report a single case of COVID at the facility for nearly 9 months of the pandemic.

Despite this, Schuylkill County Commissioners voted last year to spend more than $1 million on a new HVAC system at the historic lockup in Pottsville.

And just as the system was due to come online, the prison was hit with the first reported cases of COVID-19 within its walls.

Schuylkill County Prison Reports 18 Cases of COVID-19 in December

In defending the decision to use CARES Act money to purchase this equipment, Commissioners were told and bought the story that special technology included in this HVAC system would help prevent the spread of and even kill the coronavirus.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1658728627906147

They were preparing for a problem that didn’t exist at the time. Now, that new HVAC system is being tested.

On Dec. 22, the county reported that 3 staff members had tested positive for COVID and were classified as “symptomatic”. Further, 15 inmates had also tested positive. Of those, 8 were symptomatic and 7 were asymptomatic.

Now, it could be that the HVAC system wasn’t fully online when these infections were contracted and that means the new ventilation would have its first major test in a hurry. Or, the system the county purchased really didn’t live up to its billing.

Commissioners have said in the recent past that the new HVAC system was expected to be in place by the end of 2020.

The HVAC system at the prison was one of several questionable spending decisions made by Schuylkill Commissioners last year using the more than $12.7 million CARES Act funding the county received. When the project was first proposed, the price tag was at about $770,000. But by the time the Commissioners voted on approving the purchase, the price tag jumped by more than $400,000.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1658728627906147

Subscribe to Coal Region Canary

Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!
Loading

News Tips?

Let us know of news happening in your area. Use our NEWS TIPS ENTRY FORM
1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Tommygun30

    January 11, 2021 at 1:49 am

    IS THE COUNTY PAYING ANYONE HAZZARD PAY DURING THE PANDEMIC????

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More From The Canary

Obituaries Index

The latest obituaries from the Schuylkill County coal region for June 6, 2023.

Local News

Police investigation ongoing

Local News

State Police bomb squad called in

Local News

Investigation ongoing, police say

Canary Jumped the Shark

What's the deal with June 31st?

Schuylkill County Police News

Incident happened on May 27

Local News

Opposing Republicans present strong argument on 'No' vote

Local News

Bridge repair over Swatara Creek begins Monday.

Schuylkill County Man

Victim told police the bear made her "see stars"

Local Weather

Fire Weather Watch in effect

Advertisement https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1658728627906147