An inmate in his 70s at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston was the first Maine prisoner to die of COVID-19, the Maine Department of Corrections said Wednesday.

Prison officials announced the death Wednesday night, but declined to name the man or provide any other details about his case because of medical privacy.

His passing will be included in statewide daily totals from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, authorities said.

Maine DOC officials in September said an employee at the Charleston prison had tested positive for COVID-19 after an out-of-state trip, but hadn’t been at the facility since late August.

In late November, two employees at Mountain View tested positive, but results for other inmates and staff were negative.

Maine DOC officials did not explain how the inmate who died Wednesday is believed to have contracted the disease.

An inmate at the York County Jail died in September after previously having tested positive for the virus, and the Maine Medical Examiner’s Office determined COVID-19 contributed to that person’s death.

Maine’s prisons have seen several large outbreaks in recent months, including at the York County Jail and Maine Correctional Center in Windham.

 

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