Second inmate dies at Buckingham Correctional Center

Published 9:57 am Tuesday, May 26, 2020

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A second inmate has died at Buckingham Correctional Center (BKCC) as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. It is the third death in the two state prisons in Dillwyn since the pandemic began.

The death is according to the latest daily statistical update from the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) Friday, May 22. Six Virginia inmates have now died as a result of the virus. BKCC is the only state corrections facility with more than one death. BKCC now has 112 positive offenders with six positive staff members. Dillwyn Correctional Center (DCC) now has 321 inmates who have tested positive for the virus. Nine staff members have tested positive at DCC.

Only two people are hospitalized from DCC. Three inmates are hospitalized from BKCC.

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The Virginia Department of Health lists Buckingham County as having 443 cases with 16 people hospitalized. The rate of infection in the county, which includes the prison population, is the second-highest in the state to Richmond County. The case counts in Buckingham County continue to be heavily concentrated in the Dillwyn zip code where both state prisons are located. Dillwyn has 405 of the county’s 443 cases.

Coronavirus cases in Prince Edward County continue to rise, increasing by four to 108 with 10 hospitalizations and two deaths. Health officials have said the cause of the increase in Prince Edward appears to be due to familial spread in the general population. The increase has not been attributed to issues at long-term care facilities. A zip code breakdown of the county shows the Farmville zip code has the most cases with 83 positives diagnosed, but the Prospect zip code has had a fast growth of cases in the past week. The 23960 zip code now has 17 cases after gaining three new cases the past two days.

Cases in Cumberland County have increased to 27. Lunenburg now has eight positive cases. Charlotte counties case counts remained at 19.

Overall, the state has experienced 37,727 coronavirus cases with 1,208 deaths.