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CHARLESTON – West Virginia broke a grim milestone as the week comes to a close with more than 200 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, including the state’s first inmate death.
Gov. Jim Justice and the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday the death of a 40-year-old Wood County inmate in custody at the South Central Regional Jail in Charleston.
According to DHS, the unnamed Wood County man was in custody on federal charges and had underlying health conditions and tested positive for COVID-19 while in the hospital. The same inmate had tested negative during facility-wide testing on Aug. 12. State corrections officials have been in contact with state health officials and the U.S. Marshal’s Office.
The Wood County inmate deaths brings the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 203. Three new deaths were reported Friday: a 93-year old woman from Logan County, an 82-year old woman from Logan County, and a 77-year old man from Cabell County. Nine deaths were reported Thursday – the most deaths reported in one day since Aug. 8 and Tuesday, when eight deaths were reported those days.