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On March 31, Andrea Circle Bear was put on a ventilator in a federal medical prison in Texas.
The next day, while still hooked up to the machine, she gave birth to a baby via cesarean section.
Three days later after that, she tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Within four weeks, she was dead.
In a statement on Tuesday, officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) said Circle Bear died on April 28 at Fort Worth’s FMC Carswell, which holds more than 1,600 female prisoners with special medical needs.
Circle Bear was considered to have a pre-existing medical condition that put her at a higher risk of developing more severe symptoms of COVID-19, officials said, although the agency did not disclose what that condition was.
The 30-year-old inmate had been sentenced to 26 months on Jan. 14 after being convicted for maintaining a drug involved premises.
Circle Bear, who was Native American, had been transferred to FMC Carswell from Winner City Jail in South Dakota on March 20.
She was immediately placed on quarantine when she arrived at the federal prison and was taken to a local hospital on March 28 “due to potential concerns regarding her pregnancy,” according to the statement.
Circle Bear was released from the hospital the same day but, according to BOP, she began to show signs that she had been infected by the novel coronavirus, including a fever, dry cough, and other symptoms.
On March 31, she was taken back to the local hospital and placed on a ventilator.
The following day, officials said she underwent a cesarean section and gave birth. The sex of the baby was not specified.
Circle Bear spent four weeks at the hospital being treated, but was pronounced dead on April 28.
As of Wednesday, federal officials have seen 1,313 test positive for COVID-19 across the country. A total 335 employees have also tested positive for the virus.
Thirty federal inmates have died in federal custody.
Coronavirus In Prison
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- This Man Says Inmates At His Prison Are Getting No Medical Care For COVID-19Melissa Segura · April 10, 2020
- I Was A Prison Hospice Aide Until The Coronavirus Came. Now Inmates Are Dying Alone.Thomas Gant · April 10, 2020
- Many Inmates Fear Coronavirus Is The New Death PenaltyMelissa Segura · April 9, 2020
Salvador Hernandez is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles.
Contact Salvador Hernandez at [email protected].
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