SCI inmate, 40, becomes 13th Department of Correction COVID-19 death

A 40-year-old Dover man in Department of Correction custody died Tuesday night due to complications from COVID-19 and other illnesses.

Michael Harris, an inmate at Sussex Correctional Institution, became the 13th coronavirus-related death among inmates at Delaware prisons and second during the recent surge in cases at the department's facilities after 3½ months without a virus-related death.

DOC said Harris displayed symptoms and returned a positive test on Jan. 10. Three days later, after his symptoms worsened, he was hospitalized at Beebe Healthcare. On Tuesday, his condition "suddenly deteriorated," and he was placed on a ventilator, DOC said. He died later that night.

DOC said Harris also suffered from asthma and diabetes, underlying conditions that can exacerbate with a COVID-19 diagnosis.

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As of Tuesday, 84 inmates have an active COVID-19 infection, and that includes 21 inmates who are symptomatic, according to DOC. There are two inmates hospitalized; neither is on a ventilator.

The latest surge in community spread at DOC facilities started in November after the system saw a spike in the spring.

About 1 in 4 prisoners who have spent at least three weeks in Delaware prisons since April have tested positive for the virus. Nearly 1,800 inmates have recovered from COVID-19 since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – 1,242 inmates have recovered since the November clusters were first identified.

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Contact Jeff Neiburg at jneiburg@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeff_Neiburg.