Community Corner
Alarming Rate Of Prisoners Dying From Coronavirus
One week after first fatality, deaths increase rapidly for federal prisoners.
From the Florida Phoenix: By Laura Cassels - April 3, 2020
Seven federal inmates died of COVID-19 this week in hospitals near the prison facilities where they contracted the disease, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. None are in Florida.
U.S. prison authorities said the inmates, all male, ranged in age from 43 to 65 and had underlying medical problems that made them highly vulnerable to the disease.
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The first of the seven died of coronavirus on Saturday, March 28.
Two inmates from the Elkton Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) low-security satellite facility in Lisbon, Ohio, died Thursday after being transferred to a local hospital and placed on ventilators.
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Three from the low-security FCI in Oakdale, Louisiana, died Wednesday and Thursday in nearby hospitals where they were placed on ventilators. The first inmate to die of COVID-19 also was imprisoned at FCI Oakdale and died in a local hospital after being treated on a ventilator.
The federal prison system incarcerates 175,000 inmates around the nation and employs 24,000 staff
In addition to the deaths, the Bureau of Prisons reported Thursday that 75 inmates and 39 employees are confirmed as infected, none in Florida. At 2 p.m., the bureau had not yet posted an update.
The U.S prison system website says all its facilities are on a 14-day lockdown that started Wednesday. Inmates suspected of being sick with COVID-19 are evaluated by prison health authorities and transferred to local hospitals.
In the state prison system, the Florida Department of Corrections reported Thursday that 16 employees are infected in 11 state facilities and are off duty but that no inmates have been confirmed positive for the respiratory disease. No update was available Friday by 2 p.m.
Inmate advocates are appealing to both state and federal authorities to release low-risk inmates, starting with the ones who are elderly or sickly and are not yet infected.
This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. For more stories from the Florida Phoenix, visit FloridaPhoenix.com.
