Faribault Prison Inmate Who Tested Positive For COVID-19 Dies
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault died on Tuesday evening, a few weeks after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections reports that the 43-year-old man had tested positive for the novel coronavirus on June 4. Last weekend, the inmate's condition deteriorated until he was hospitalized on Monday.
The inmate has been identified as Adrian Raymaar Keys. A medical examiner is working to determine whether COVID-19 was the cause of death, or if something else ultimately led to his death. If COVID-19 is determined to have caused Keys' death, it would be the first such instance of the virus killing an incarcerated person in this state.
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The corrections department says that there have been more than 200 cases of coronavirus at the Faribault facility since the first reported case on June 3. Of those, three required hospitalization: Keys and two others, who remain in the hospital, one in critical condition.
There are more than 1,700 prisoners in the Faribault facility.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Keys," Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said. "Since the start of the pandemic we've worked to take all reasonable steps to minimize the introduction and spread of COVID-19 in the state's correctional facilities for the well-being of those we serve and our staff."
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Corrections reports that they have reduced state prison populations from about 8,900 to 7,962 as of Thursday.