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An offender housed at Albemarle Correctional Institution in New London who tested positive for COVID-19 has died at the hospital as a result of pre-existing conditions complicated by COVID-19, according to a press release from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. This is the sixth coronavirus death of an individual in custody at a North Carolina state prison.

“His death is a tragedy, and we are continuing to work hard to handle the impact of COVID-19 in our prisons,” Todd Ishee, commissioner of prisons, stated in the Wednesday, July 15 press release. “The health and safety of the staff and the offenders in our custody remains our top priority.”

NCDPS stated the offender was hospitalized on July 8, 2020, was tested for COVID-19 and the positive results were received on July 11. His condition worsened and he died at the hospital on July 14.

The offender was a male in his late fifties and had underlying health conditions, according to DPS. “Given his family’s right to privacy and the confidentiality of prison offender records, the Department of Public Safety will not further identify the individual,” continued the release.

“Prisons leadership has taken a substantial number of actions throughout the North Carolina prison system to try to prevent transmission of the virus,” stated DPS. Those actions, along with offender testing information which is updated daily, are found here.

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