An inmate at the Westville Correctional Facility has died from COVID-19. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box announced the death during state officials’ COVID-19 briefing Tuesday.
“Prisons, just like long-term care facilities and residential facilities, are facilities where we have individuals living in congregate settings, and we’ve always known that they are in increased risk,” she explained. “And that is why at the State Department of Health, we have prioritized them, along with our long-term care facilities and residential facilities.”
This marks the first death of an offender from COVID-19 at an Indiana Department of Correction facility. The IDOC says the man was over the age of 70 and did not previously have indications of illness. He reported chest pains and trouble breathing on Monday and was taken to a hospital, where he died later that evening. The IDOC says he tested positive for COVID-19 while at the hospital.
The announcement came a day after Governor Eric Holcomb said he didn’t believe in releasing low-level offenders to protect them from the coronavirus, and that the state had done “an admirable job” at quarantining. When asked again following the inmate’s death, Holcomb again said that state officials are not considering releasing prisoners.
