Oklahoma prisoner dies after being hospitalized with COVID symptoms

• Quinton Chandler
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  Quinton is an Oklahoma native who started his radio career with KOSU Public Radio in 2011. He’s a graduate of Oklahoma State University. Before joining StateImpact, Quinton spent three years reporting in South Central and Southeast Alaska. Quinton loves writing, reading and has an intense relationship with his Netflix account.

An Oklahoma prisoner who tested positive for COVID-19 died in a hospital on Saturday. The woman was admitted to the hospital with COVID symptoms.

She was incarcerated at Eddie Warrior Correctional Center which had 713 positive COVID cases as of Friday.

According to a Department of Corrections news release, the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine what caused her death. Citing medical privacy rules the corrections agency said it would not release her identity.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reports there have been at least 854 COVID deaths in Oklahoma. This is the first time the state has reported one of its prisoners died after being diagnosed with the disease.

The Department of Corrections news release says the agency has not received any death reports regarding its prisoners from the state medical examiner’s office citing COVID-19 as a cause of death.

If she had lived, the woman’s earliest possible release would have come in May, 2021.