6 inmates have died from virus at Ohio federal prison
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A look at coronavirus-related developments in Ohio on Wednesday:
FEDERAL PRISONS
Six inmates have now died from the coronavirus at a federal prison in eastern Ohio, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and local health officials.
Two of the three men from the Federal Correctional Institution in Elkton who died this week had been in the hospital for more than a week, the prisons bureau said.
Both inmates and staff have tested positive for the virus at the state’s only federal prison, which houses about 2,400 low-level offenders.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio went to court this week trying to force the prisons bureau to release all inmates who are in grave danger of the virus.
Last week, members of the Ohio National Guard began arriving at the prison to assist with medical needs.
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AMUSEMENT PARKS
Two popular Ohio theme parks have announced that 2020 season passes will be honored through the 2021 season, in addition to whatever time the parks would be open this year after coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
Cedar Point in Sandusky and Kings Island in Mason are both owned by Sandusky-based Cedar Fair.
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STAY HOME ORDER
A judge dropped a charge that a man who recorded a large gathering in a Cincinnati neighborhood violated Ohio’s coronavirus quarantining orders.
Hamilton County Judge Alan Triggs on Wednesday dropped the charge at the prosecutor’s request, and allowed 26-year-old Rashaan Davis’ release from jail to house arrest pending grand jury action on a felony count of inciting violence, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
He was jailed April 5. Grand jury proceedings have been suspended for safety during the pandemic.
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DONATIONS
A Kroger Co. worker used bonus money the grocery chain paid employees to reward them for their efforts to supply customers during the virus outbreak to help out first responders in his hometown near Cincinnati.
Somsanouk “Som” Vongprachanh bought 20 cases of water, some 100 rolls of toilet paper, and stacks of disinfecting wipes, and donated it all to the Norwood police and fire departments.
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Associated Press writer Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
