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PENDER COUNTY, N.C. — An offender in a North Carolina state prison has died of the coronavirus, a first for the state, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

NCDPS has not released the offender’s name but says he was a man in his late fifties with underlying health conditions.

The man was an offender housed at Pender Correctional Institution.

He first showed symptoms on April 8.

Prison officials quickly isolated him from the rest of the prison population.

His test results for the coronavirus came back positive on April 10.

NCDPS says, despite constant medical attention, he was taken to the hospital on APril 13 and died on Tuesday.

“Any death is a tragedy, and we must continue our efforts to do all we can to try and flatten the curve of COVID-19 in prisons,” said Todd Ishee, North Carolina commissioner of prisons. “The health and safety of the staff and the men and women in our custody is of paramount importance.”

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