5th Florida prisoner dies of COVID-19

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A fifth Florida inmate has died from complications related to COVID-19, according to a report released Monday by the Florida Department of Corrections.

The state agency did not disclose where the prisoner was housed or whether the inmate died at a correctional facility or at a hospital.

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Four other inmates died earlier this month after contracting the highly contagious virus at Blackwater River Correctional Facility, a Santa Rosa County prison operated by The Geo Group Inc.

As the virus continues to spread within Florida’s prison system, the number of COVID-19 cases among inmates and corrections workers throughout the state climbed to 323 on Monday, corrections officials said.

The total number of prison cases includes 197 inmates and 126 workers, with cases involving 18 inmates and five employees reported by the corrections department over the weekend.

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has been detected at 56 prisons and four probation offices across the state, according to the report released Monday.

The vast majority of inmates with COVID-19 are housed in three prisons: Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell, Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach and Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Milton.

In addition to the inmates who have tested positive, 3,829 inmates across the state are in medical quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19, officials said. Another 20 prisoners have been placed in medical isolation and are awaiting test results after showing symptoms indicative of COVID-19, officials said.

As of Monday, 439 of the state’s roughly 94,000 inmates have been tested for the virus, an increase of 78 tests since April 19. Corrections officials have not said how many employees have undergone testing.