Two more inmates at the California Institution for Men in Chino have died from complications due to COVID-19, officials announced Monday, and there are now more than 500 known infections in the facility.
The incarcerated individuals died on Sunday and on Monday, respectively, at an outside hospital, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Although the fatalities appear to be from complications related to COVID-19, the exact cause of death has not yet been determined, the department said.
Officials did not release the identities of the men who died. The next of kin for the man who died Monday was already notified, officials said. But the department was unable to reach the next of kin for the man who died Sunday.
The California Institution for Men has had the highest number of COVID-19 deaths among California state prisons. The two fatalities mark the 14th and 15th at the Chino facility, and the 16th and 17th within the entire California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The two other state facilities that have had an inmate death due to COVID-19 include Chuckawalla Valley State Prison near Blythe in Riverside County and the California Institution for Women in Corona.
There are currently 501 inmates at the Chino facility who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. And statewide, there are now 2,460 incarcerated individuals who have tested positive for the virus.
Additionally, 293 corrections employees across the state are currently positive for COVID-19 and two employees have died. There have been a total of 549 reported employee cases, with 256 having returned to work.
The state corrections agency implemented mandatory testing of all employees at the California Institution for Men in May, as the number of positive cases there grew.
