This is my weekly report on the virus inside our prisons in America. Here are the latest numbers that I have.
Cases
By Sept. 22, at least 132,677 people in prison had tested positive for the illness, a 5 percent increase from the week before.
New cases among prisoners reached an all-time high in early August after slowing down in June. The growth in recent weeks was driven by big jumps in prisoners testing positive in Florida, California, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons as well as outbreaks in Arkansas, Hawaii and Oklahoma.
Deaths
The first known COVID-19 death of a prisoner was in Georgia when Anthony Cheek died on March 26. Cheek, who was 49 years old, had been held in Lee State Prison near Albany, a hotspot for the disease. Since then, at least 1,107 other prisoners have died of coronavirus-related causes. By Sept. 22, the total number of deaths had risen by 4 percent in a week.
Staff
Among prison staff there have been at least 28,899 staff members that have tested positive. There have also been at least 81 deaths that have been publicly reported among prison staff.
Please do not let up praying for our brothers and sisters inside. Thanks so much.
In HIS grip,
Bill Corum
II Corinthians 5:17