Officials say 2 more Georgia inmates have died from COVID-19

Prison officials said two more Georgia inmates have died from COVID-19, bringing the total number of prisoner deaths from the coronavirus outbreak to six as the number of confirmed cases in the state’s prisons continues to climb.

A 68-year-old man who had been held at Autry State Prison in Pelham and was hospitalized in Thomasville was pronounced dead around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Department of Corrections news release. A 44-year-old man who had been held at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson and who had been hospitalized in Griffin died just before 11 p.m. Wednesday, the release says.

As of Wednesday evening, 155 inmates and 77 prison employees in about 30 facilities statewide had tested positive, according to the Department of Corrections website. Six inmates and one employee have died.