Over 1,000 Inmates Test Positive for COVID-19 at North Texas Prison
Coronavirus cases are rising at a North Texas federal prison as over 1,000 inmates tested positive for COVID-19, with at least one death.
The Federal Correctional Institute at Seagoville has 1,798 inmates. At least 1,072 are positive for COVID-19.
Only 668 cases were recorded as COVID-19 positive there last week. The figures made it the prison with the largest number of coronavirus cases in the nation, as per NBC Dallas' reported.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons had an official count of 10 staff members, who tested positive for the coronavirus, and four recoveries.
Inmate James Giannetta, 65, died Thursday from COVID-19, the bureau said. Giannetta first tested positive for the coronavirus last June 26 and was hospitalized two days later after having a hard time breathing.
Giannetta was put on a ventilator, while treated. He had long-term, pre-existing medical conditions, said the prison bureau.
He was serving a 14-year sentence on drug and conspiracy to launder money charges. He died on July 16.
According to the bureau's count, about 3,600 federal inmates and over 300 prison staff have already tested positive for COVID-19. The death count includes 97 inmates and one employee.
When it comes to recoveries, there are 5,434 inmates and 631 staff included.
Virus Activity in Texas Prisons
As of Monday, the Stiles Unit near Beaumont also found 672 inmates with active infections. The number is already half of the prison's population, reported the Texas Tribune.
The Coffield Unit at East Texas also had 753 COVID-19 positive inmates. That makes up 19 percent of the prisoners there, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice data.
Three other state prisons and jails said they have at least 25 percent inmates with COVID-19, as of Monday.
Dominguez State Jail in San Antonio had 472 cases, and both the Daniel Unit in Snyder and the Hamilton Unit in Bryan had 250 cases each.
The recent numbers indicated that the virus is very active in the Texas prison system.
While some of the most affected prisons for May and June reported fewer cases, their inmates have also not gone through tests in recent time and on a large scale.
Loved Ones are Concerned
In another NBC report, it was said that prisoners were confined to their cells since March and the prison's air conditioning system was very poor.
The inmates had been complaining to their loved ones about the conditions in the prison.
One of the loved ones affected is Michelle Trevino, a wife of a prisoner. "My biggest fear is that COVID will get him," she said. She's also worried that her husband, who only has a year left in his sentence, will get the coronavirus in the prison.
According to Trevino, her husband was denied home confinement even if he reportedly qualifies. Trevino also said her husband is experiencing hot days in the prison.
"He says it feels like it's about 110-degrees," she noted.
The families of those inside the prisons are planning to protest near the jail facility on Saturday. This is to bring attention to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the prison system.
"There are people who qualify who've done very well, who really want to turn their lives around," Trevino said.
Want to read more? Check these out!