Third inmate in a week dies after positive test for COVID-19, SC prison officials say
For the third time in a week, an inmate at a South Carolina prison has died after testing positive for COVID-19, the Department of Corrections said.
Samuel Wilson Sr. is the sixth South Carolina inmate overall who has suffered a coronavirus-related death, Department of Corrections officials said Monday in a news release.
The 49-year-old had “several underlying medical conditions,” according to the release.
Wilson was being held at MacDougall Correctional Institution when he tested positive for the coronavirus on July 2. He was transferred to Lee Correctional Institution, where he was being isolated and monitored, SCDC officials said.
On July 6, Mark Lee Trammell, 60, died at a hospital outside of Kirkland Correctional Institution where he was a prisoner. A day later, another MacDougall inmate, 65-year-old Martin William Duncan, died at a hospital.
Through Monday, 84 inmates and 11 staff members at MacDougall have tested positive for COVID-19, SCDC said. in the past week, there have been 25 new confirmed cases of coronavirus among inmates at the all-male, medium-security prison outside of Charleston.
Tyger River Correctional Institution in Enoree is the only South Carolina prison to have more confirmed cases of inmates testing positive for COVID-19 than MacDougall, according to SCDC. Three of the 145 inmates there who’ve tested positive have recovered, while three of 21 employees confirmed to have the virus at Tyger River have been cleared, officials said.
Across the 21 prisons in South Carolina operated by the Department of Corrections, there have been 426 confirmed cases of the coronavirus among inmates, according to the release. While 123 have recovered, 303 inmates are still active COVID-19 patients, officials said.
The first prisoner in South Carolina to test positive for COVID-19 was reported in April.
Overall, 93 of the 184 SCDC staff members who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been cleared, according to prison officials.
Approximately 5,000 people work at the Department of Corrections, and there are 16,840 inmates in South Carolina.
SCDC said it’s working closely with the Department of Health and Environmental Control “to ensure proper guidelines and protocols are being followed to safely manage our staff and offenders,” according to the release.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 10:06 AM.
