COVID-19 Update: Prison Update
April 13, 2020
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Governor DeWine has authorized members of the Ohio National Guard to support Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) medical staff at the Pickaway Correctional Institution.
The prison currently has more than a dozen members of its medical team out sick due to COVID-19. Among other tasks, members of the guard will provide triage support, take temperatures, and help with non-COVID-19 cases. They will also help provide care at the on-site long-term care center which houses older inmates and those with chronic illnesses.
Additionally, ODRC announced that an inmate who died over the weekend at the Pickaway Correctional Institution tested positive for COVID-19. The inmate had been suffering from a long-term, chronic illness and was tested for the virus prior to his death. The positive test results were returned today. This is the first death of a COVID-19-positive inmate at a state prison institution.
CURRENT OHIO DATA:
There are 6,975 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 274 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 2,033 people have been hospitalized, including 613 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Video of today’s full update, including versions with foreign language closed captioning, can be viewed on the Ohio Channel’s YouTube page.
For more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH