Dozens of inmates test positive for COVID-19 at West Virginia prison

Alexa Mencia

4 years ago

This 2020 electron microscope made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention image shows the spherical coronavirus particles from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. Released by the CDC on Friday, July 31, 2020, a Georgia summer camp hit by a coronavirus outbreak took many precautions, but didn’t make campers wear masks and put too many children in the same cabin, according to a government report released Friday. (C.S. Goldsmith, A. Tamin/CDC via AP)

MOUNT OLIVE, W.Va. (NewsNation) — Dozens of inmates at a West Virginia prison have tested positive for coronavirus, state health officials said.

According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources’ website, 138 inmates at the Mount Olive Correctional Complex were confirmed as having the virus, while 187 tests at the prison are pending.

A second round of tests was held at the maximum-security prison in Fayette County last week.

Earlier in August, several inmates and staff in a prison housing unit tested positive for the virus, Gov. Jim Justice had said.

Last week, West Virginia reported the first death of an inmate that state health officials believe may be due to complications from COVID-19. An inmate from the South Central Regional Jail died Friday. State officials said the 40-year-old from Wood County had underlying medical conditions and recently tested positive for the virus.