Ohio Coronavirus Update: 2 Inmates At Ohio Prison Die

COLUMBUS, OH — Two inmates at the Pickaway Correctional Facility have died, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday. Officials believe these prisoners died due to complications from the new coronavirus but are waiting on confirmation through tests.

"My team has been working on different strategies to create more room for social distancing within our state prisons," DeWine said.

The state released 105 inmates from Ohio prisons this week in an attempt to create space in state facilities. Each prisoner will be tested for COVID-19 before they are released.

Prisoners who have 90 days or less on their sentence will be evaluated for early release, DeWine said. Inmates serving sentences for violent crimes are not eligible for early release, the governor said.

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Over the past three weeks, at least 500 inmates have been released. Local courts have taken steps to reduce jail populations as well, cutting into the feed of inmates into state prisons, DeWine said.

"This has resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of inmates being sent to our state prisons and has allowed for more room for social and physical distancing. We expect this trend to continue throughout this crisis," DeWine said.

Sanitizing For Law Enforcement

Battelle will sanitize N95 masks for Ohio's first responders, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday. Local law enforcement agencies can bring packaged N95 masks to any Ohio State Highway Patrol post in the state and the masks will be sent to the company for cleaning.

"This will contribute greatly to our efforts to protect Ohio’s protectors," DeWine said. "The patrol will be sending out guidelines to local law enforcement and EMS agencies soon on how the masks must be packaged."

The Numbers

Ohio has 7,791 cases of the new coronavirus, according to the state health department on Wednesday. At least 361 Ohioans have died due to complications from the virus.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, there were 37 COVID-19-related deaths in Ohio, the state health department said. Between Monday and Tuesday, there were 50 COVID-19 related deaths in the state.

Cuyahoga County continues to lead the state in COVID-19 cases, with 1,281 confirmed. Mahoning County has seen the most COVID-19 deaths, with 41 confirmed.

Stimulus Checks

Ohio residents are eagerly anticipating a payment expected as part of a $2 trillion federal economic relief package intended to mitigate the financial and economic fallout caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.

Through the "Get My Payment" tool, Americans can not only check on their payment status, but can also confirm payment type (direct deposit or check) and enter bank account information for direct deposit if the Internal Revenue Service doesn't have the information on file.