RICHMOND, Va. — Two inmates at a Virginia prison who tested positive for COVID-19 have died as the state struggles with an outbreak of more than 400 active cases at a prison holding many older and ailing male inmates.
The Virginia Department of Corrections said in a news release that 407 inmates at the Deerfield Correctional Center in Capron currently have the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
Lisa Kinney, a department spokeswoman, said the two deaths on Saturday make a total of six Deerfield inmates who have died from COVID-19, the most deaths at any prison in Virginia.
Prison officials say more than 10% of the state’s 27,000 inmates have now tested positive.