UTAH, Nov. 25, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Corrections on Wednesday reported two additional deaths of inmates who were positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths among those incarcerated in state penitentiary to nine.
One inmate was 70 years old and passed away on Monday. The victim was hospitalized at the time of death.
The other inmate was 48, and died on Wednesday. That patient was also hospitalized at the time of his passing.
Before being hospitalized, both inmates were housed and followed by medical staff at the Oquirrh 5 facility in Draper. The families of the deceased have been notified.
The Department also reports a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Oquirrh 2 facility where inmate reported COVID-19-related symptoms and was tested. The results came back positive. Staff immediately initiated isolation and quarantine protocols, and have initiated larger scale testing.
As of Wednesday, there are 560 active cases of COVID-19 between the Utah State Prison (USP) in Draper, the Central Utah Correctional Facility (CUCF) in Gunnison, and state inmates housed at a county jail.
Outbreaks are currently present in the following areas: Oquirrh 5, Oquirrh 2, Promontory, Lone Peak, Wasatch (Dog-Block), Ironwood, Henry (Dogwood) and Boulder (Fir, Gale, and Hickory).
Inmates designated as recovered number 684.
The Department hosted its first semi-monthly video update on Friday at 10 a.m. Deputy Director Jim Hudspeth shared an update on UDC’s response to COVID-19, which can be found on further down on our Facebook page.
To read more or check for updates, click here.
