Harvey Weinstein has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. According to the Niagara-Gazette, Weinstein is currently in isolation at the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo as a precaution.
New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision declined to confirm (though TMZ later did) that Weinstein caught the virus, due to federal health-care privacy laws. However, the NY Department of Corrections did confirm that two inmates at the facility have tested positive.
All visitation has also been suspended because of the outbreak.
Officials cited in the Niagara-Gazette report believe that Weinstein had the virus when he got to Wende. New York has seen an uptick in coronavirus cases among prisoners, and Rikers is confirmed to have at least some of the state's infected inmates at their jail.
A spokesperson for Weinstein said that they have "not heard anything like that yet," regarding Weinstein's condition. They added that "I can't tell you what I don't know."
Weinstein is just weeks into a 23-year prison sentence after being found guilty of two felonies on February 24. One of those felonies was criminal sexual assault in the first degree, while the other was rape in the third degree.
After his conviction, Weinstein was remanded to New York City's Rikers Island until he was to be sentenced on March 11. He was hospitalized with chest pains after that sentence, which got him temporarily sent to Bellevue Hospital.
He wasn't transferred to Wende until this past week (Wednesday, March 18) just a day before his 68th birthday.
Additionally, Weinstein still faces a criminal trial in Los Angeles, but that trial has been complicated, even before this report came out, because of the national/worldwide pandemic caused by the coronavirus.
Per a report that came out earlier on Sunday, 21 inmates had tested positive for the coronavirus in New York City jails. At the moment, nearly 60 others are being monitored for potential exposure.
As stated above, hours after the news was first reported, TMZ confirmed Weinstein's diagnosis. They said it's unclear when he came down with the virus, but that he's been in isolation ever since he was first taken to Rikers a few weeks ago. The fact that reps for him are unaware about whether or not the news is true makes sense, since TMZ also reported that Weinstein hasn't had contact with anyone, including family or lawyers, since he was diagnosed.
As for what the next step is, a New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision rep told TMZ that "With each confirmed case, DOCCS worked with the Department of Health to identify any potentially exposed individuals in order to provide notifications and to stop the spread of the virus."
