Second inmate dies of virus in as many days

Marks 10th death while in state custody since the pandemic began

Another Connecticut inmate died Sunday of complications from COVID-19, the second in three days and the 10th inmate to die since the pandemic began.

The 67-year-old man had been transferred to an outside hospital for treatment on Nov. 26 from the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, the state Department of Correction announced Monday.

His death followed that of a 44-year-old man who also had been transferred to an outside hospital from MacDougall-Walker on Friday morning and died a few hours later. The DOCdid not identify either man publicly, citing medical privacy laws.

“This is a solemn reminder that we must continue to do everything under our power to limit the spread of this persistent virus — we cannot not ease up on our efforts,” Commissioner Designate Angel Quiros said in a statement Friday.

The men mark the ninth and 10th inmates to die while in state custody as cases increase across the 14-facility system and continue to surge through the general public statewide. On Monday,

DOC reported 101 offenders have tested positive and are experiencing symptoms and another 216 are positive but asymptomatic.

Last week the York Correctional Institution in Niantic was placed in partial lockdown after almost two dozen inmates at the women’s prison tested positive for COVID19. Those women were moved to medical isolation and the lockdown was put in place to secure the nearly 500 total offenders’ movements during the day and limit potential spread of the virus.

The man who died Sunday has been incarcerated since Jan. 30, 2012, and was serving more than 24 years after a conviction for second-degree larceny and three other charges, officials said. Although some offenders have been granted early release during the pandemic, this man was not eligible for parole until 2031.