SC prison employee dies from coronavirus complications
An employee at a state-run prison has died from complications resulting from the coronavirus, the S.C. Department of Corrections announced Tuesday.
The agency described the employee, who worked at the Lee Correctional Institution, as a “non-security” administrative staff member who had limited contact with inmates. The employee was last at work on March 27, last had contact with inmates on March 26 and received a positive test result on April 5.
The employee died on Sunday.
Neither the inmates nor staff members who were in close contact with the employee have shown symptoms and none are sick now after the 14-day monitoring period, according to a Corrections news release.
Corrections did not release the name of the employee at the request of the family.
“My deepest sympathy goes out to this employee’s family,” Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said. “Our staff is working so hard to protect themselves and our inmates. We are lifting up the family in prayer.”
So far, 29 Corrections employees have tested positive for COVID-19, including two at Lee. The Lee employee was the first of the agency’s employees to die from COVID-19 complications. The disease is a sometimes severe respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
Corrections has had 16 inmates across the state’s corrections system tested for COVID-19 after showing flu-like symptoms and testing negative for the flu. All the inmates have been negative for the coronavirus, Corrections spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said.
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 4:17 PM.
