COVID-19 claims the life of first inmate in N.C. prison custody

An inmate at an eastern North Carolina prison who tested positive for COVID-19 has died at the hospital — the first fatality in the state prison system linked to the coronavirus.

The inmate, a man in his late 50s, had underlying health problems that were complicated by COVID-19, according to the state Department of Public Safety. He was housed at Pender Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison north of Wilmington.

The inmate exhibited symptoms of a viral infection on April 8, and was promptly tested and isolated from the rest of the prison population, according to a DPS news release. The test came back positive on April 10.

“Despite constant medical attention, he was hospitalized on April 13, 2020,” the DPS news release said. “His condition worsened, and the offender died at the hospital on April 21, 2020.”

Citing the family’s right to privacy and the confidentiality of inmate records, state officials did not identify the victim.

“Any death is a tragedy, and we must continue our efforts to do all we can to try and flatten the curve of COVID-19 in prisons,” said state prisons commissioner Todd Ishee. “The health and safety of the staff and the men and women in our custody is of paramount importance.”

The inmate’s death comes as the state battles a massive COVID-19 outbreak at Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro. More than 440 of Neuse’s 770 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, making it one of the hardest-hit prisons in the nation. State officials are now testing every inmate there, and more results are pending.

Twenty two staff members at Neuse have also tested positive for the coronavirus, prison spokesman John Bull said Wednesday. That has increased the staffing challenges at Neuse, which — like many state prisons — has wrestled with high officer vacancy rates.

On Monday, prison officials announced that they have temporarily closed Johnston Correctional Institution, in Smithfield, and are sending that prison’s employees to work at Neuse, 24 miles to the southeast.

Across the state prison system, nearly 500 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus. And 55 staff members have either tested positive or have reported testing positive, Bull said.

State officials say they are working as rapidly as possible to curb the spread of the virus at Neuse and all the other state prisons.

They’ve suspended visitation. They’ve begun releasing some inmates early. And they say they are taking the temperatures of all staff members before they enter prisons each day.

This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 12:11 PM with the headline "COVID-19 claims the life of first inmate in N.C. prison custody."