Ogdensburg state prison inmate dies from COVID-related illness

OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) - An inmate at Riverview Correctional Facility in Ogdensburg has died from COVID-19-related causes.

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision says the 60-year-old unvaccinated inmate died at an outside hospital on January 21.

DOCCS points out that the cause of death is determined by a county medical examiner, so it’s not clear if COVID was the primary cause of death.

This is the prison’s second COVID-related death and the 43rd for the entire state prison system.

Seventeen DOCCS workers have also died from the illness, department records show.

Since the pandemic began, more than 11,000 staff and nearly 10,000 incarcerated people have tested positive for COVID.

As of Monday, 53.2 percent of incarcerated individuals in DOCCS custody have been partially vaccinated, fully vaccinated, or fully vaccinated with a booster.

DOCCS says it continues to offer the vaccine to its incarcerated population.

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