Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, US media has reported. Weinstein, 68, is in prison in northern New York state after being sentenced to 23 years in jail for rape and sexual assault. The fallen film producer's diagnosis was first reported on Sunday evening by local paper the Niagara Gazette. Weinstein's spokespeople have declined to comment to US media on the subject.

The New York State Department of Corrections did not respond when contacted by AFP for confirmation of the reports. Weinstein was transferred Wednesday to a prison near Buffalo, 350 miles (560 kilometers) northwest of New York City. Prior to his transfer, he stayed at Rikers Island prison and a Manhattan hospital, where he was treated for chest pains. Crowded US prisons have the potential to become hotbeds for coronavirus infections. Last week, guards at Rikers and New York's Sing Sing prison tested positive for the virus, local media reported.