Inmate at Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater dies from coronavirus

By Jeremy Fox
April 2, 2020
Boston Globe

An inmate at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater died Thursday while hospitalized for the novel coronavirus, the Massachusetts Department of Correction said Thursday night.

The inmate was a man in his 50s who had underlying health conditions, the department said in a statement. He had been quarantined immediately after he began showing symptoms and was taken to a hospital as his condition worsened, according to the department.

A test confirmed his COVID-19 infection, and he remained at the hospital for 10 days as his condition worsened, the department said.

Prisoners Legal Services of Massachusetts, a non-profit that advocates for the rights of the incarcerated, said in a statement Thursday night that its staff was “very distressed” to learn of the death, which it described as the first death of an incarcerated person in Massachusetts from COVID-19.

“We very much hope that his death and the current suffering of all the other prisoners, correctional officers, and medical staff struggling with COVID-19 in the Commonwealth today propel swift and meaningful action to release people who can safely live in their communities,” the organization said. “Such action must happen as immediately as possible to be effective and to minimize future deaths.”