Dillwyn Correctional Center inmate dies of COVID-19

Published 11:37 am Wednesday, May 13, 2020

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The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) listed Buckingham County as having 347 positive coronavirus cases Wednesday, May 13, making it the county with the second-most cases relative to its population in all of Virginia.

Meanwhile, the second death in the county came Tuesday in the form of a Dillwyn Correctional Center (DCC) inmate.

The passing of the DCC offender marked the second death of an inmate in the county after the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) reported one death from the Buckingham Correctional Center (BKCC) earlier last week.

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For the first time in weeks, cases reported by VDH outnumber the cases reported in Buckingham’s two correctional facilities.

VADOC on Wednesday reported 205 positive inmates, eight positive staff, five hospitalized offenders and one inmate dead at DCC as a result of the virus.

BKCC was listed Wednesday as having 75 positive inmates, five positive staff and five offenders hospitalized with one death.

In nearby Farmville, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Farmville Detention Center has experienced its first outbreak of the virus. The ICE COVID-19 case count website listed the Farmville facility as having two cases as of Wednesday. ICE Public Affairs Specialist Kate Pote said the two inmates who tested positive never entered the general population of the detention center.

In Prince Edward County, Piedmont Regional Jail Superintendent Jim Davis said Monday the jail has experienced a total of 13 inmates infected with COVID-19 since its first case in mid-April. On Monday there were four known inmates infected with the virus, and two of the four were hospitalized in Lynchburg. The remaining nine inmates, Davis said, were in various levels of recovery. Six jail staff members had tested positive for the virus with two pending their test results.

Buckingham jumped from 246 VDH-reported cases Monday to 301 on Tuesday and then 347 Wednesday, bumping it up to the county with the second most cases relative to its population in Virginia. Richmond County is the only county in the commonwealth with a higher percentage of reported cases than Buckingham.

Cumberland County was listed Wednesday as having jumped to 18 cases of the virus compared to the 13 cases reported Monday. Tuesday night, Cumberland County Administrator Don Unmussig briefed listeners of the county’s monthly Board of Supervisors meeting on Cumberland’s slowly rising case counts, acknowledging that the outbreaks at the Buckingham prisons may affect Cumberland.

“There have been some issues where a number of our residents who are employed there are now at risk,” Unmussig stated.

Prince Edward County rose to 69 total confirmed cases Wednesday. Lunenburg County had six cases and Charlotte had 11.

Virginia overall has seen 26,746 COVID-19 cases and 927 deaths.

The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association showed on Wednesday 1,526 coronavirus-positive Virginians or those awaiting test results were being hospitalized, with 374 of those patients in the ICU. Virginia had 202 of its 2,935 ventilators in use Wednesday. 3,554 hospitalized Virginians have recovered from the coronavirus and been discharged.

(Farmville Herald reporter Titus Mohler contributed to this story.)