Harvey Weinstein Tests Positive for COVID-19, Falls into High-Risk Category: Report
Convicted sex criminal Harvey Weinstein has been moved into isolation in a New York State prison after testing positive for COVID-19.
Weinstein, 68, is being held at Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, according to the Niagara Gazette.
Weinstein is considered at high risk of the disease due to his age and his recent heart surgery at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
The former Hollywood mega-producer, whose reputed assaults on women were a major part of the formation of the #MeToo movement, is serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault.
?BREAKING: Harvey #Weinstein has been placed into isolation in a New York prison after testing positive for #coronavirus.#COVID19 #CoronavirusPandemic https://t.co/JILnNLJ5fp
— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) March 22, 2020
Wende, which serves as a hub for new inmates in the sprawling New York state prison system, has one other inmate who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Weistein arrived at the prison on Wednesday after being held at Rikers Island, the New York City jail. The Gazette quoted what it termed “officials familiar with his situation” as saying they believe Weinstein had the disease when he arrived in the western New York prison.
A report in Britain’s The Sun said that according to an advocacy group, there are more than 40 inmates and corrections officers at Rikers Island who have tested positive for the virus.
Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, told the Niagara Gazette that privacy constraints barred any comment on a specific inmate.
He said the union is seeking to ban all “nonessential” transfers of inmates among prisons and wants a halt to accepting new prisoners from local jails.
“There is no better breeding ground for this virus than a closed environment such as a correctional facility,” said Powers.
Powers said three state corrections officers have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Weinstein, who has been accused of violating scores of women, was convicted last month of raping a woman in a New York City hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on another woman at his apartment in 2006.
Weinstein used a walker throughout the trial following recent back surgeries and arrived in the courthouse for his sentencing in a wheelchair.
The news of Weinstein’s positive test caused a stir on Twitter.
?BREAKING: Harvey #Weinstein has been placed into isolation in a New York prison after testing positive for #coronavirus.#COVID19 #CoronavirusPandemic https://t.co/JILnNLJ5fp
— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) March 22, 2020
I take no joy in hearing Harvey Weinstein has the virus. Couple of reasons. One – prison staff will have to tend to him, risking their own health & they don’t deserve that. Two – I want him to live out the rest of his days miserably behind bars rather than getting a quick exit.
— Nick Pettigrew (@Nick_Pettigrew) March 22, 2020
More than 90 women, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman, eventually came forward to accuse Weinstein of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The takedown energized the #MeToo campaign of speaking up about sexual assault and holding perpetrators accountable.
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