Coronavirus Update: California Reports 1st State Prison Inmate Death Caused By Virus
LOS ANGELES (CBS SF/AP) — California reported the first prison inmate death from COVID-19 on Sunday as the state steps up efforts to prevent outbreaks among vulnerable populations, including people living in nursing homes, on the streets or in homeless shelters.
The inmate died at a hospital after contracting the coronavirus at the California Institution for Men in San Bernardino County, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
No further details were released to protect the inmate's medical privacy, and next of kin was notified. According the Department of Corrections website, the prison in San Bernandino currently houses 121 inmates who have tested positive for the coronavirus -- the largest outbreak at a jail in the state.
Across the state, 89 corrections employees have tested positive for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, at San Quentin, 34 inmates have been tested, but there have been no confirmed cases.
At county jails around the San Francisco Bay Area, hundreds of inmates have been released early to ease overcrowding and the chances for a massive virus outbreak.