The employee worked at San Quentin State Prison and was the first staff member at California’s oldest prison to die of the disease, according to the department.
Covid-19 has claimed the lives of 24 inmates there, according to the department.
Prisons around the country have struggled to keep the virus from spreading among staff and inmates. At San Quentin, more than 2,000 inmates and 261 staff members have been infected.
More than 1,000 staff members statewide are confirmed cases, according to the CDCR.
As of Saturday, California had 545,787 confirmed cases statewide and 10,189 deaths, according to the Department of Health.
