A second person held at the federal prison in Oakland, La., has died of COVID-19.
The inmate has not been identified by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which confirmed the death. New Orleans Public Radio learned of the death from staff at the facility.
It’s the second death of an inmate from COVID-19 across all federal prisons, and the second death at Federal Correctional Institute Oakland, which is seeing rampant spread of the virus.
Ronald Morris, a maintenance foreman at the prison and president of the prison’s union local, said there have been nine inmates tested positive for the coronavirus, 32 more with symptoms, and 64 more who’ve been exposed. Of those, 15 inmates were in local hospitals. Meanwhile, eight staff have tested positive, 16 more have symptoms and one was in an intensive care unit at a hospital.
The Bureau of Prisons told The Lens that it has stopped testing for the virus at the facility because the outbreak is so widespread. Instead, anyone with symptoms is assumed to have COVID-19.
A spokesperson for the bureau told the news outlet that the move is intended “to conserve valuable testing resources,” and added that the bureau had no plans to release nationwide testing figures. The last update was Monday, and reported 28 inmates and 24 staff had tested positive across U.S. federal prisons.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Prisons began a 14-day quarantine for inmates systemwide to stem the spread of COVID-19.
