SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Three more people who were incarcerated in Oregon prisons have died after contracting COVID-19, state officials said.
Two men lodged at Two Rivers Correctional Institution, who were both between 70 and 80 years old, died at a local hospital this week, the Oregon Department of Corrections said Thursday in a news release.
Officials also said a man who was between 55 and 65 years old at Oregon State Penitentiary died Thursday at a nearby hospital. Officials said he was the 36th person to die in Oregon prisons after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Oregon State Police have been notified, and the Medical Examiner will determine cause of death, which is standard practice, officials said.
More than half of the Department of Corrections incarcerated population have been identified as COVID-19-vulnerable, officials said.
Generally, incarcerated people are in poorer health than their peers in the community, officials said, and Oregon has one of the oldest incarcerated populations in the country.
Corrections employees will continue to work to bring outbreaks under control as positive cases in prisons not only impact employees and adults in custody, but also the surrounding communities, officials said in the news release.