Agency: Alaska inmate death related to COVID-19

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A man serving time in an Alaska corrections facility died in a Soldotna hospital and his death was related to COVID-19, the state Department of Corrections announced Monday.

The department, in a statement, said the 68-year-old man died Friday. He had been in the department’s custody for 10 years.

Betsy Holley, a department spokesperson, said in an email that the man was being held at the Wildwood Correctional Center in Kenai before his death.

Holley said the facility is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak, with about 187 inmates having tested positive. She said the department does not track positive cases among staff, “as they are not required to report their COVID status when they call out sick.”

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been six COVID-19-related deaths among people in department custody, she said.