CTF inmate dies from apparent COVID-19 related complications

SOLEDAD, Calif. (KION-TV)

A Correctional Training Facility (CTF) inmate has died from apparent COVID-19 related complications, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said on Friday.

The inmate died at an outside hospital on August 20th. This is the first inmate at the Soledad prison to die related to COVID-19.

The CDCR writes in a statement that "no additional information is being provided to protect individual medical privacy."

63 inmates currently at CTF have tested positive for the virus, and 46 of those cases have come in just the last two weeks. Only five more CDCR prisons have more active COVID-19 cases.

Nearly all of the CTF COVID-19 cases have come in the last month. Our previous reporting shows that on August 12, there were 11 active inmates who tested positive for coronavirus in the two weeks prior.

View CDCR "population COVID-19 tracking" page here.

"CDCR takes the health and safety of all those who live and work in our state prisons very seriously and will continue to work diligently to address the COVID-19 pandemic," the department said in a statement Friday.

A CDCR spokesperson also tells KION that "there is no evidence to show that any inmate contracted COVID-19 as a result of the STG (Security Threat Group) investigation."

KION reached out to the CDCR with that question, due to inmate family concerns surrounding an incident in July. On July 27, KION spoke with the wife of an inmate concerned about COVID-19 spread after inmates were removed from their housing areas in an overnight "raid". She claims they were waiting in close quarters with no masks.

"Safety protocols were followed throughout the investigation. Warden Koenig personally toured during the investigation to ensure it was being conducted safely and appropriately," a CDCR spokesperson said for our July report. "Nobody was harmed and the institution’s normal operations resumed quickly. However, if any incarcerated person feels otherwise, they are always welcome to file an appeal utilizing the normal institutional Form 602 process."

Seven CTF employees have tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic, as of August 28. Two have been able to return to work.