16th Inmate Dies At California Prison Hardest Hit By Virus
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Another inmate has died at the California prison hit the hardest by the coronavirus, bringing to 18 the number of prisoners who have died statewide in the pandemic, officials said Thursday.
The inmate at the California Institution for Men in Chino in San Bernardino County, died Wednesday at an outside hospital from what appear to be complications related to the virus, officials said. However, an official cause of death has not yet been determined.
That brings to 16 the number who have died at that prison, which has nearly 500 active cases of the virus among about 3,000 inmates.
Two inmates have died elsewhere, one at the nearby California Institution for Women and the other at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Blythe.
Nearly 2,000 cases are active among inmates statewide, corrections officials said, and more than 1,300 inmates have recovered.
In addition, two corrections employees have died. Nearly 600 employees have contracted the virus and about half have recovered.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
