1st Stateville Inmate Coronavirus Death, Will Co. Total Now At 6

JOLIET, IL — Two more Will County residents have died from the new coronavirus, including an inmate at the Stateville Correctional Center north of Joliet. The two latest deaths were men in their 50s and 60s, state public health officials said Monday.

Will County's total number of coronavirus deaths now stands at six. The county's total number of cases is 224 as of Monday afternoon. It had been at 192 on Sunday.

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According to state public health officials, a dozen inmates from Stateville Correctional Center are now being hospitalized, including several prisoners requiring ventilators.

Additionally, 77 more prisoners with symptoms of the coronavirus are being kept in isolation at the maximum-security state prison along Route 53. A total of 11 staff members from the prison are also being kept in isolation, the state announced.

Monday's news release indicated the Illinois Department of Corrections is taking steps to control the spread of the coronavirus within all its detention facilities. Employees at these prisons are having their temperature checked daily as they enter the facility.

According to the Department of Corrections, Stateville Correctional Center has 1,173 prisoners, another 1,302 inmates at its Northern Reception and Classification Center on the property plus another 199 inmates in its minimum security unit, for a grand total of 2,674 prisoners. Stateville was built in 1925.

In total, there are now 5,057 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Illinois, and 73 people have died from the illness, the state said.

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