Third of San Quentin’s 4,000 prisoners have been diagnosed with coronavirus and six have died

Third of San Quentin’s 4,000 prisoners have been diagnosed with coronavirus, including six who have died

  • Over 1,300 inmates have been infected with covid at San Quentin State Prison
  • The southern California prison is the only facility for males on death row in state
  • Six inmates have died in San Quentin, including death row’s David Reed, 60

David Reed, 60, the California death row inmate at San Quentin State Prison has died from apparent complications of the coronavirus

More than one third of inmates at a Californian prison have been infected with coronavirus and six have died from the virus, including one death row prisoner.

Over 1,300 prisoners have now been infected at San Quentin state in northern California, the home of California’s death row for male inmates, making the outbreak the third largest in the United States. 

The prison had all but escaped the virus until late May when 120 ‘uninfected’ inmates – who were 65 and over or had existing medical conditions – were moved from a nearby facility in Chino that was suffering a large outbreak, to create more room for isolation.

A surge in cases then spread through the facility as 25 of the transported prisoners tested positive for covid-19 and it was revealed that they had not been tested for five to six days before being moved, reports The San Francisco Chronicle. 

Among those to die was David Reed, 60, who had been on Death Row since 2011 for first-degree murder of Ricky Mosley in Southern California in 2004, with use of a deadly weapon and robbery. 

Over 1,300 prisoners have now been infected at San Quentin state in northern California

Over 1,300 prisoners have now been infected at San Quentin state in northern California

Tents are erected at an emergency care facility outside of the San Quentin prison in southern California

Tents are erected at an emergency care facility outside of the San Quentin prison in southern California

He died from covid-19 complications on Tuesday at an outside hospital, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Prison welfare advocates have rallied for governor of California Gavin Newsom to release more prisoners to control the spread.

Throughout California 29 inmates have died from covid-19, with 5,000 infected so far, the state had seen 6,000 deaths and 277,000 infections, as of Monday.

Speaking on Monday the Democratic governor Newsom said his administration planned to bring the prison’s population down to 3,000.

Over 1,400 inmates and staff at San Quentin State Prison have become infected with coronavirus

Over 1,400 inmates and staff at San Quentin State Prison have become infected with coronavirus

SAN QUENTIN, CALIFORNIA - JULY 08: A view of a new emergency care facility that was erected to treat inmates infected with COVID-19 at San Quentin State Prison on July 08, 2020 in San Quentin, California. Over 1,400 inmates and staff at San Quentin State Prison have become infected with coronavirus COVID-19 after inmates from a Chino, California prison. Six inmates have died from the virus. An emergency care facility was erected on the baseball field to treat inmates suffering from one the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the nation. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Journalist Juan Moreno Haines, who is incarcerated inside the jail, told The Appeal that inmates were still being held together in cells

He told Huffpost that the issue was a ‘top priority’ and that they would be ‘individually’ assessing who was viable for release over the next few weeks.

 On Tuesday Newsom met with U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar at the California Medical Facility where inmates with ill health are incarcerated.

It is not known what they discussed but Judge Tigar has previously made pleas for Newsom to free some inmates to allow for more safe and isolated housing of those that must remain in prison during the pandemic. 

Around 1,000 inmates could be released to make space for isolated treatment of imates

Around 1,000 inmates could be released to make space for isolated treatment of imates

Journalist Juan Moreno Haines, who is incarcerated inside the jail, told The Appeal that inmates were still being held together in cells, adding that many inmates did not want to admit to being ill. 

He told The Appeal: ‘Prisoners are reluctant to report when they’re feeling sick, because they know they’ll be sent to solitary confinement.’

Twenty inmates at the prison went on hunger strike last week to protest for more social distancing to be introduced to the prison and thorough cleaning to be done during the covid-19 pandemic, reports The HuffPost. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk