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A third man incarcerated at an Oregon Department of Corrections facility died Aug. 20 from COVID-19.
The man was incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton. He was between 60 and 70 years old, and he died at a local hospital, ODOC said in a press release.
The Eastern Oregon prison has 193 active inmate COVID-19 infections—the highest of any facility within the ODOC system. Nineteen employees have tested positive for the virus.
Two other men incarcerated in Oregon prisons have died due to COVID-19: one who died May 20 after being incarcerated at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, and another who was at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario before dying on Aug. 12.
There are currently 567 COVID-19 infections of Oregon inmates and 152 infections among staff. Five hundred and two inmates and 128 staff have recovered from the virus.
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, where the man who died yesterday had been incarcerated, experienced a recent outbreak of cases. Between July 23 and Aug. 3, ODOC says 131 inmates tested positive for the virus. During a single day, Aug. 3, 47 prisoners at the Eastern Oregon facility tested positive for the virus.
ODOC says it continues to disinfect its prisons multiple times a day, and that employees are required to wear masks if they cannot maintain 6 feet of distance from others.