The deteriorating situation at the Elkton federal prison in Lisbon, Ohio has progressed in the exact horrifying fashion advocates had feared last week when inmates in the facility first began showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Gov. Mike DeWine yesterday ordered the National Guard to assist health care personnel at the low-security facility, which currently holds some 2,040 inmates in a fashion that has made social distancing and personnel safety almost impossible in the face of a spreading virus.
In a video recorded on a smuggled cell phone and posted to Facebook, an inmate lodged a public plea on behalf of the inmates, who he said are being left to die armed with little more than some cloth for a mask and bottles of soap that are replenished every two weeks.
A week after the alarm bells rung when three inmates first tested positive and dozens more began displaying symptoms, three inmates have now died and today's update has the numbers continuing to climb.
Latest COVID-19 numbers out of FCI Elkton federal prison in Ohio, per head of the local BOP union:
— CJ Ciaramella (@cjciaramella) April 7, 2020
- 71 inmates in isolation with symptoms
- 37 inmates transferred to outside hospital with virus or similar symptoms
- 12 of those on ventilators
- 3 staff infected
Just days ago, there had been only 17 inmates in isolation and 20 hospitalizations. All staff were ordered by the county health department to self-quarantine except for work duties.
