A newly committed offender with pre-existing medical conditions, who tested positive for COVID-19, has died at a hospital.
The offender was hospitalized prior to being admitted to the state prison system and assigned to Central Prison on Sept. 15, per a court order signed by a Durham County judge on Sept. 14. The offender, who never physically entered a prison, died at the hospital on Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m.
He was admitted to the hospital on Aug. 20.
The offender was a male in his late fifties who had underlying health conditions. Given his family’s right to privacy and the confidentiality of prison offender records, the Department of Public Safety will not further identify the individual.
Prisons leadership has taken more than four dozen actions throughout the North Carolina prison system to try to prevent transmission of the virus. They are found here: https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/adult-correction/prisons/prisons…