Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who is serving a 23-year sentence for committing felony sex crimes over a number of years, has tested positive for coronavirus, Reuters reported on Monday. Weinstein has been put in isolation at the Wende Correctional Facility in New York after testing positive on Sunday morning.

Michael Powers, the president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, confirmed the news, adding that he was worried about the prison officials who he claimed did not have sufficient protection. Weinstein was moved to the maximum security prison on Wednesday from New York City’s Rikers Island jail. Powers added that many of the staff had been quarantined.

Meanwhile, the United States has confirmed 33,276 cases of the virus so far, and at least 400 people have been killed due to it as of Sunday, reported CNN. Half of these cases – 15,168 – were in New York state. New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio has said the coronavirus outbreak will get worse. “We’re about 10 days away from seeing widespread shortages,” he said, according to BBC. “If we don’t get more ventilators people will die.”

The allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein were first reported by The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017, which led to the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. These sought to expose sexual harassment and assault, especially at the workplace.

Since the allegations against Weinstein became public, several people from within the American film industry and outside accused actors and directors such as Dustin Hoffman, Brett Ratner, Geoffrey Rush, Ryan Seacrest, Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman of misconduct.

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