Lee State Prison inmate dies of Covid-19

FORSYTH, Ga. (WALB) - – The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) announced Friday the death of a 49-year-old offender who had been housed at Lee State Prison (SP) in Leesburg. He was previously reported to have tested positive for COVID-19, and was pronounced deceased on March 26 at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment since March 15.

The GDC continues to monitor the status of COVID-19 exposure at Lee State Prison (SP) in Leesburg, and the following information outlines the most recent information as of this writing:

Offenders

Two (2) offenders are hospitalized after being confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 20;
Three (3) offenders tested positive for COVID-19 on March 25, 26 and 27, respectively, and are currently asymptomatic and remain in medical isolation at Lee SP;
One (1) offender was admitted to the hospital on March 22 for flu-like symptoms, and COVID-19 test results are pending;
Thirteen (13) offenders are housed in medical isolation at Lee SP for exhibiting flu-like symptoms; of those, two (2) have been tested for COVID-19 and results are pending.

Staff

Four (4) staff members tested positive for COVID-19;
Three (3) are asymptomatic and are quarantined at home per Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) guidelines, and last reported to work on March 9, March 13, and March 16 respectively;
One (1) is currently hospitalized and last reported to work on March 16.

The Georgia DPH has protocols in place to contact individuals who may have been in direct contact with the staff members who have tested positive.

The GDC currently has one (1) confirmed case of COVID-19 in the offender population at Phillips State Prison (SP) in Buford. The offender, who is currently asymptomatic, first exhibited flu-like symptoms on March 20, and has been housed in medical isolation at the facility since that time. The COVID-19 test was returned positive on March 26. At this time, there are no positive cases of staff at Phillips SP.

Both Lee SP and Phillips SP are on restricted movement; however, offenders continue to have access to medical care, showers, meals, and hygiene-related products. Additionally, the GDC continues to screen staff entering each of our facilities, with questionnaire-based attestation documents and temporal temperature screening.

The GDC’s Office of Health Services is working closely with the Georgia DPH to ensure appropriate protocols and guidelines are followed while managing the safety and welfare of our staff and offender population.