2 Men Die Of COVID-19 While Incarcerated In Suffield, Hartford

SUFFIELD, CT — Two men have died of COVID-19 complications while incarcerated in Connecticut, the state Department of Correction said this week.

Due to medical privacy laws, the men's names aren't being released.

The first man, 77, was being treated at MacDougall-Walker's Medical Isolation Unit when he was taken to a local hospital for continued treatment of his illness and comorbidities on Jan. 5. He died on Jan. 15.

He last entered the Connecticut correctional system on July 31, 2018, and was being held on a $2 million bond for murder, the Department of Correction said.

The second man, 51, was incarcerated in the Hartford Correctional Center when he became symptomatic with COVID-19. He was transported to a local hospital on Jan. 15, but died on Jan. 17.

The man was returned to the Hartford Correctional Center on Oct. 29, 2021 after he absconded from special parole on Sept. 23, 2020. He had been involved with the Department of Correction for over 30 years, officials said, and his special parole was set to end on Aug. 12, 2026.

News of the two deaths came just over a week after the Department of Correction announced the passing of two other men who had died of COVID-19 while incarcerated in Suffield's MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution.

"I pray that we have passed the peak of the Omicron wave of the virus," said Commissioner Angel Quiros. "As always, I encourage those who have not been vaccinated to get their shots."