A prison inmate from Idaho who was being held at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona has died after being infected with COVID-19, according to prison operator CoreCivic.
A total of 1,082 prisoners from Hawaii are also being housed at Saguaro, and 61 of the Hawaii convicts have tested positive for the coronavirus. Six of those inmates have been hospitalized, according to a Hawaii prison spokeswoman.
The Hawaii Department of Public Safety announced that CoreCivic completed a mass testing of 1,011 Hawaii prisoners at Saguaro on Thursday in an effort to control the spread of the coronavirus inside the facility, and the results from those tests are expected in the next three days.
Inmates who are awaiting test results will remain in a precautionary 14-day quarantine until the results are received, according to the department.
The Idaho Department of Correction has announced that an inmate from that state who has “COVID-like symptoms” was taken from the Saguaro facility on Oct. 1 to Banner Casa Grande Medical Center in Casa Grande, Arizona, where he was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The inmate, who was not identified, died at the hospital on Oct. 17, according to a written statement by the Idaho authorities.
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About the Author
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Kevin Dayton is a reporter for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at kdayton@civilbeat.org.