CONNECTICUT, USA — The Connecticut Department of Corrections announced on Wednesday that one of the inmates passed away due to COVID-19.
The 45-year-old man had been transferred from the Osborn Correctional Institution to an outside hospital for treatment on October 15. The CT DOC says he last entered the state's correctional system on October 19, 2018. He was serving a three-year sentence for burglary in the third degree and strangulation in the second degree. The inmate had a maximum relate date set for August 2021 and was not eligible for parole until May 2021.
“This is a sobering reminder that we cannot let our guard down when it comes to the coronavirus. We will continue to take the necessary precautions to limit its spread within our facilities,” said Commissioner Designate Angel Quiros. “My condolences go out to his family and loved ones.”
Due to medical privacy laws, the man's identity will not be released.
The CT DOC says it has been nearly six months since an inmate died from complications due to COVDI-19. That inmate passed on May 26. The DOC added it had just completed its third round of mass testing of the incarcerated population and the COVID-19 positivity rate was just under 1 percent.
As of the time of this writing, the DOC reports that out of about 9,300 inmates only 20 percent have symptoms associated with the virus. Those individuals are recovering in the DOC's Medical Isolation Unit in the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution.
As of November 18, there have been eight inmates who have died from complications due to COVID-19
