facebook-pixel

11th COVID-19 positive inmate dies in Utah prison

Officials say Draper, Gunnison facility are on modified lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2015, file photo, a watch tower at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Draper, Utah. The Utah State Prison in Draper and the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison have been placed under a 24-hour lockdown after authorities believe the general inmate populations were exposed to COVID-19. The state Department of Corrections tells The Deseret News that the facilities went into lockdown Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, around 3 p.m. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool, File)

  | Dec. 23, 2020, 5:12 a.m.
| Updated: Dec. 24, 2020, 5:09 a.m.

An 86-year old inmate who had tested positive for COVID-19 died Sunday in the Utah Department of Corrections’ infirmary in Draper, according to the Department.

The latest death brings the total number of COVID-19 positive incarcerated individuals who have died to eleven.

There were 964 active COVID-19 among state inmates as of the Department’s Monday announcement. The Department said the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison and the Utah State Prison in Draper are on a modified lockdown meaning that out-of-cell time might be “greatly limited” in areas that are most affected by COVID-19.

COVID-19 didn’t get into Utah prisons until October, but it has been circulating since then. Prisoners and their family members have said the state isn’t doing enough to take care of sick inmates.