Ohio prisons among most in nation with COVID-19 cases, deaths

SANDUSKY — Ohio's prison system is among the hardest-hit in the country by COVID-19. State prisons rank fourth in cases with 5,082. Ohio prisons only trail prisons in Texas, with 12,071; federal prisons nationwide, with 8,896; and California, with 6,428, according to data compiled by nonprofit news organization The Marshall Project. Eighty-six Ohio prisoners have died from COVID-19, ranking third behind federal prisons (99) and Texas (94). According to the Marshall Project, 4,215 of the infected inmates in Ohio have recovered. Cases in Ohio prisons exploded in late April, where more than 3,500 inmates tested positive. That spike is attributed to mass testing. Among prison staff in the state, there have been 866 infections and five deaths. More data paints a picture of how the virus disproportionately affects the incarcerated populations in Ohio: • Known cases per 10,000 prisoners: 1,042 (1,692 percent higher than the rate for Ohio's entire population) • Deaths per 10,000 prisoners: 18 (572 percent higher than the rate for Ohio's entire population) • Tests administered per 10,000 prisoners: 3,437 (285 percent higher than the rate for Ohio's entire population) The non-profit Prison Policy Initiative said they suspect some COVID-19 data from states is inaccurate due to inconsistencies with the rates of fatalities to confirmed cases. The Prison Policy Initiative also says looking at rates of cases and deaths per 10,000 prisoners is the best way to analyze the data due to the variance in prison populations in different states. Two states (Wyoming and Hawaii) have not released any COVID-19 data in their state prisons, and a number of states aren't releasing statistics for how many tests have been administered in prisons. For comparison, here's a look at the rates in states that border Ohio. Ohio's prison population is 48,453 and it had a case fatality rate (overall deaths per overall confirmed cases) of 1.7 percent. Michigan • Prison population: 36,980 • Cases per 10,000 prisoners: 1,009 • Deaths per 10,000 prisoners: 18 • Case fatality rate: 1.7 percent Pennsylvania • Prison population: 43,852 • Cases per 10,000 prisoners: 66 • Deaths per 10,000 prisoners: 2.3 • Case fatality rate: 3.4 percent Indiana • Prison population: 26,707 • Cases per 10,000 prisoners: 271 • Deaths per 10,000 prisoners: 7.4 • Case fatality rate: 2.7 percent Kentucky • Prison population: 21,397 • Cases per 10,000 prisoners: 530 • Deaths per 10,000 prisoners: 3.4 • Case fatality rate: 0.6 percent West Virginia • Prison population: 6,550 • Cases per 10,000 prisoners: 245 • Deaths per 10,000 prisoners: 0 • Case fatality rate: 0 percent Sources: UCLA COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, The Marshall Project Coming soon: Why was Ohio's prison system so badly affected the coronavirus? The Register investigates.