By Catherine Candisky
The Columbus Dispatch
MT. STERLING, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections on Tuesday announced the fourth death of a prison staffer from the coronavirus.
Dewane “Pete” Gannon, 58, of Mt. Sterling, and a corrections officer at the Correctional Reception Center, died Monday from complications of COVID-19. Gannon had worked at the prison for 10 years.
The day before, the deadly virus claimed the life of a nurse at the facility in the Pickaway County of Orient, south of Columbus: Bernard Atta, 61, of Galena, who had worked for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction since 2012. He died at his home after leaving work May 8 with symptoms of the infection, prison officials said.
The virus also has killed 63 inmates in Ohio.
Department statistics for the Orient facility showed that, as of Sunday, 153 inmates and 30 staff members had been infected, with one prisoner death. The prison, currently with a population of 1,459, serves as an intake center where new arrivals can spend up to six months before being transferred to a permanent facility to complete their sentence.
Intake at the reception center, suspended April 7 due to the virus, resumed on Monday on a limited basis of no more than 50 inmates each day. Inmates will be tested for COVID-19 at intake and remain at the reception center at least 35 days.
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