Carbon County is contracting with St. Luke’s to conduct COVID-19 testing on all inmates who are scheduled to be transferred to other facilities.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners ratified a request from Warden Timothy Fritz on the agreement with the health network in Bethlehem.

Sheriff Tony Harvilla, who is the president of the prison board, said that the reason for the contract is the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is requiring all inmates transferred to their facilities to have a negative COVID-19 test to limit the amount of spread that is possible. The state has also indicated that inmates being sent back to county facilities also go through tests to make sure they are not positive.

As of Thursday, Harvilla said that there have been no cases of COVID-19 in the Carbon County Correctional Facility and credits early and decisive action by the prison board and courts as the reason for that.

Early on, officials suspended visitations, the work release program and other operations to limit the number of people coming into the prison. Court hearings had also been moved to virtual sessions.

In other court-related matters, the commissioners ratified an action to utilize constables for coverage in the four district judge offices for the next four weeks at a cost of $13 per hour per the constable fee bill.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said the district judges requested additional security as the courts begin to ramp up again.

He noted that the additional support in the district courts would only be about two to three days a week.