Allegheny County court employees and prosecutors are among the recent covid-19 cases in the county, officials confirmed Monday.
Six employees have been diagnosed with the disease, according to Allegheny County Court Administrator Christopher Connors.
Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office Stephen A. Zappala Jr. also posted on social media that three of its staff members have contracted the virus.
Zappala spokesman Mike Manko said the publication serves as an answer to questions about covid-19 in the DA office.
“We will review the security measures that have been put in place to determine where improvements should be made,” a Facebook post reads in part.
A message from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office about Covid 19
District attorney personnel …
Posted by Allegheny County District Attorney on Monday, July 6, 2020
Two other attorneys working at the Allegheny County Courthouse also tested positive, Connors wrote in an email.
It was not immediately clear if the two attorneys Connors mentioned are prosecutors at the district attorney’s office.
District Judge Anthony DeLuca’s Penn Hills office is also closed for two weeks beginning Monday due to a positive case at that court office.
- Two of the people who tested positive at court work. His positive result was June 25 and July 2.
- One works in the City-County Building and tested positive on July 4th.
- One works in pre-trial services and tested positive on June 30.
- One works in the family division and tested positive on June 30. This employee worked from home.
- One worked in Judge DeLuca’s office and tested positive on July 5.
The confirmation of the cases comes after several Pittsburgh criminal defense attorneys said they fear the possible spread of covid-19 in court and are concerned about the perceived lack of communication between judicial officials, prosecutors and attorneys working in the court on the presence. of the coronavirus there.
“The public deserves to know,” said Patrick Nightingale, a defense attorney based in the center. “The court is where the public comes into contact with the judicial system.”
Nightingale also heard about the prosecutors’ case, and another related to a court journalist who also tested positive, but nothing official has been communicated to lawyers coming and going to court, he said.
“No one is telling the criminal defense what is going on,” said Nightingale.
Another Pittsburgh defense attorney, Marc Daffner, agreed.
“I don’t know anyone who has received anything official,” said Daffner. “All we are hearing is essentially rumors.”
Court officials are working on a plan to communicate positive cases to attorneys while maintaining the confidentiality of the person who tested positive, Connors said.
The court system goes beyond procedures recommended by federal, state and county health officials, Connors said. It tracks its own contacts and notifies those who may have been exposed to someone who tested positive for covid-19, according to Connors.
In addition to the recently confirmed cases, one person tested positive in May while the courts were closed, Connors said.
Defense attorneys working in the court are concerned that the building is ready for the spread of the disease, Nightingale and Daffner said.
“We all have internships in multiple counties. Are we carrying this virus without knowing it throughout the community? Nightingale said. “We just want to be safe. We have older attorneys at higher risk. “
Pittsburgh defense attorney Todd Hollis put it this way: “We are perfect carriers.”
“We meet large numbers of people daily and travel from county to county,” said Hollis.
He’s taking precautions, but those aren’t failsafe, Hollis said.
“I am terrified,” he said. “I am terrified that contracting covid can be very detrimental to my health.”
Tom Davidson is a writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, [email protected] or via Twitter.
Categories:
Coronavirus | Downtown Pittsburgh | Local | Allegheny | Best stories
