WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - The Delaware Department of Correction on Sunday announced eight new cases of COVID-19 among offenders, all inmates at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna.
The department said in a news release that it tested 45 inmates at a housing unit where four other inmates tested positive over the past five days. All eight were asymptomatic, with no fever, cough or other known symptoms of the virus, the statement said.
Of the 12 inmates with confirmed cases, nine were being housed in a stand-alone building on the prison compound that’s been established as a COVID-19 treatment center, the department said. Two were at a hospital and one was in the prison infirmary.
The department also announced Sunday that one additional correctional officer has tested positive, bringing the total to 11.
The total number of confirmed cases in Delaware increased by nearly 150 to a new total of at least 1,625 with two more fatalities, bringing the death toll to 35, according to the latest information available from the state Sunday evening.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
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