An offender housed at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women who tested positive for COVID-19 has died at the hospital as a result of pre-existing conditions complicated by COVID-19. This is the fourth coronavirus death of an individual in custody at a North Carolina state prison.
“Any death is a deeply saddening, and we continue to work hard to deal with COVID-19 in our prisons,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “The safety and health of the staff and the offenders in our custody remain our top priority.”
The offender was a female in her late sixties and had underlying health conditions. Given her family’s right to privacy and the confidentiality of prison offender records, the Department of Public Safety will not further identify the individual.
The offender tested positive for COVID-19 on April 18, 2020. She was hospitalized on April 19, 2020. Her condition worsened, and the offender died at the hospital on May 6, 2020.
Prisons leadership has taken a substantial number of actions throughout the North Carolina prison system to try to prevent transmission of the virus. Those actions, along with offender testing information that is updated daily, are found here DPS Action for Prisons.
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