Number of state prisoner deaths increases sharply in past week

The number of Nevada prisoners reported to have died of the coronavirus is four times higher than it was a week ago, state data shows.

By Thursday, the state had reported that 40 prisoners have died of the virus, according to data posted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ website. The number of deaths has skyrocketed since Jan. 7, when state data had recorded only eight deaths.

The increase is partly because of reporting delays from the prison system, and the state’s coronavirus website was updated recently to reflect additional deaths, according to a statement from Tim Robb, a spokesman for Gov. Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 response team.

“(The Department of Corrections) is working with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to remedy these inefficiencies in order to meet the requirement of timely reporting,” Robb said.

No new prison deaths or cases were recorded on Friday, state data shows.

Only three states — Michigan, Kentucky and New Mexico — have reported more per capita prisoner deaths from the coronavirus, according to data last updated Thursday from the Marshall Project, which tracks COVID-19 cases and deaths within federal and state prisons. The Marshall Project had recorded 39 prisoner deaths in Nevada as of Thursday.

The first five prisoner deaths were publicized Dec. 9 during a meeting of the state’s Sentencing Commission. Prisoner death notices posted to the Department of Corrections’ website do not include why a person died, so it remained unclear Friday how the reporting delays compare with the number of COVID-19 deaths recorded by the prison system.

As of Friday, Nevada had reported four Department of Corrections employees have died from COVID-19, two more than this time last week, state data shows. Casa Grande Transitional Housing and Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center, both in the Las Vegas Valley, have reported one staff death each. Two employees at High Desert State Prison, also in Southern Nevada, have also died.

Employees will receive COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time as other public safety employees, while prisoners will be vaccinated “in the same age and health condition prioritization as the public,” Robb said.