First Michigan Department of Corrections officer dies of coronavirus

LANSING, Mich. - An officer with the Michigan Department of Corrections has died due to the coronavirus.

Confirmed by MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz, the individual was from Detroit and is the first employee from the department to die of coronavirus-related complications.

While no more information was given, an email obtained by the Detroit Free Press that was sent to staff on Tuesday said the employee was a transportation officer.

So far, more than a dozen department of correction workers and almost a hundred prisoners have been diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Public health officials have worried about what kind of threat the coronavirus presents to inmates if the virus manages to find its way inside prisons. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is considering several options for how to handle the situation, which may include releasing low-level offenders in an effort to slow the spread of the disease through prisons.