Coronavirus in Oklahoma: Current cases climb in state prisons

More than 2,100 inmates in state prisons have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to the latest statistics from the Oklahoma Corrections Department.

The count has jumped as more and more facilities experience outbreaks of the disease.

The newest "hot spot" for COVID-19 is a minimum-security facility for men in Vinita.

The Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center had 200 currently positive inmates Tuesday, up from 15 Friday but down two from Monday, according to the statistics. Six inmates there were described as recovered.

Overall, 774 prison inmates were described Tuesday as currently positive.

As the positive cases climb, so have the deaths.

The number of state prison fatalities possibly related to COVID-19 stood at four Tuesday. The Corrections Department announced two of the deaths Monday night.

An elderly male from the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center died Saturday, and an elderly male from the Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington died Sept. 3, according to a news release. Both had been hospitalized.

The inmate who died Sept. 3 had "numerous comorbidities" but was added to the count of possible COVID-19 fatalities "in the spirit of full transparency," according to the news release.

Another male from the Joseph Harp Correctional Center died Sept. 9 more than a week after being hospitalized, the Corrections Department announced earlier.

A middle-aged female from the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft died Sept. 5 after being hospitalized. The situation at the hard-hit women's prison has improved, according to the statistics. On Tuesday, only 211 inmates there were positive. Another 570 were listed as recovered.

Gov. Kevin Stitt is being asked to take new steps to mitigate the spread of the disease in prisons.

"The environment inside prisons fosters health hazards and unsafe conditions especially during a pandemic," former House Speaker Kris Steele wrote the governor on Sept. 4. "People in prison are 3x as likely to die of COVID-19 as people on the outside, adjusted for demographic factors, and the way facilities are set up does not allow people to social distance or protect themselves."

Steele is executive director of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform.

In his letter, Steele called for a halt to in-person visitations and a halt to taking new inmates from jails until positive cases decline.

He also called for the governor to consider granting reprieves for inmates with only 60 days or less to serve and to expedite any pending sentence commutations.

He recommended that inmates over the age of 55 or with chronic or underlying health conditions be screened to determine eligibility for medical parole. He recommended the Pardon and Parole Board be instructed to consider any public safety factors associated with those individuals and make recommendations for release to the governor as soon as possible.