Buckingham Correctional Center cases increase

Published 11:13 am Monday, June 1, 2020

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Two additional Buckingham County prison inmates died from complications of COVID-19 in the last week.

On Thursday, May 28, a Buckingham Correctional Center (BKCC) inmate, the third since the prison’s initial outbreak, passed away due to the virus.

Saturday, May 30, marked nearby Dillwyn Correctional Center’s (DCC) second inmate death due to COVID-19.

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Five of the nine inmate deaths related to the coronavirus in Virginia have occurred at prisons in Buckingham County.

The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) reported 147 total coronavirus cases stemming from BKCC’s offender population Monday, June 1, a 29-case increase from the day prior.

Despite the jump, VADOC Deputy Director of Communications Gregory Carter said Monday afternoon, additional point prevalence testing, which consists of testing a large group including those not showing any signs of the virus, was not conducted at BKCC in the past week.

BKCC was listed as having eight active staff-related coronavirus cases. DCC had experienced a total of 324 cases as of Monday, with seven active staff cases.

Buckingham’s Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reported coronavirus case count rose slightly to 461 Monday, although the county was still listed as only having three deaths as a result of COVID-19. The two prison deaths and the recent jump in cases at BKCC did not appear to be included yet in Monday’s VDH numbers.

Cumberland County was listed at 38 cases Monday, and Prince Edward County had increase slightly to 137 cases. Lunenburg remained at 13 cases, and Charlotte increased to 24.

On Monday, Virginia was listed as having experienced a total of 45,398 novel coronavirus cases and 1,392 COVID-19-related deaths.