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Imprisoned Harvey Weinstein Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the coronavirus, the head of the New York State corrections officers union confirmed on Sunday.

Harvey Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Weinstein, the 68-year-old former movie producer serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, was placed in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility, said Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

Weinstein was transferred to the maximum security prison east of Buffalo from Rikers Island on Wednesday, authorities said.

Rikers reportedly has one of the country's highest single reported coronavirus outbreaks, with at least 38 inmates testing positive as of last week.

A judge in Manhattan sentenced Weinstein earlier this month to 23 years in prison after he was conviced of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping Jessica Mann, a onetime aspiring actress.

Weinstein -- whose case drew worldwide attention amid the #MeToo movement -- was briefly treated at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for heart problems and reportedly has other medical issues, including diabetes and high blood pressure.

The Niagara Gazette in upstate New York broke the news Sunday.

SEE: At New York prison, Harvey Weinstein put in isolation after contracting virus

Another inmate at Wende also tested positive for COVID-19, the Gazette also reported.

Powers said his union has urged state corrections officials to immediately suspend all "non-essential" transfers of inmates from one state facility to another or from local facilities during the ongoing health emergency.

Three state corrections officers tested positive and nearly 60 others throughout the system were being monitored after contact with suspected carriers, he said.

Those include 58 NYSCOPBA members in the Hudson Valley, including 28 assigned to the maximum security Green Haven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, Powers said.

Wende is notorious for housing "celebrity" convicts, including John Lennon's murderer, Mark Davi Chapman, and "Preppie killer' Robert Chambers.

Several popular actresses were among more than 100 women who accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.

Weinstein, who is still facing charges in Los Angeles, insisted any sex was consensual.

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