Federal inmate serving time for drug charge is first inmate to die from COVID-19

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - Patrick Jones, a 49-year-old prisoner in Louisiana who was serving a 27-year prison term for a drug charge, became the first federal inmate to die from COVID-19, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced late on Saturday.

A total of 14 inmates and 13 staff in federal prisons across the United States have fallen ill with the virus, according to the BOP's website. Jones was serving his prison sentence at a low security facility in Oakdale, Louisiana, and first developed symptoms on March 19, the BOP said. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)