Durham sees spike of 150 coronavirus cases due to Butner prison, officials say

Durham saw a spike of 151 coronavirus confirmed coronavirus cases Tuesday with the majority of those cases coming from Butner Federal Prison, according to a news release.

The county reported 712 cases and one new death, according to a news release. Monday, Durham County reported 565 cases and 16 deaths.

Ninety-five percent of those cases come from Butner Federal Prison, the county reported. Butner prison buildings are in both Granville County are Durham County, the county said in a news release.

Durham County officials did not say whether the cases are inmates, staff members or both. They also did not say which facility the inmates live in on the Butner campus.

The spike comes a day after The News & Observer reported mass testing at a minimum security camp at Butner, which is part of a medium-security prison on the campus. Of 185 cases at Butner reported Monday, almost all, except for 12, came from the medium-security prison.

Sue Allison, a bureau spokeswoman, did not confirm that the testing was at the camp, The N&O reported.

Butner now has 241 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Twenty of those cases are staff members.

A sixth death was reported Tuesday, according to a Bureau of Prisons news release. The inmate was William Walker Minto, 73, who had a pre-existing medical condition, according to a release. He was sentenced in Tennessee to 20 years for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuna.

He had been at Butner since Oct. 11, 2019.

Durham reported outbreaks of cases at five long-term care facilities with two new centers added Monday. Five cases were reported at Durham Recovery Response Center with two at Hillcrest Convalescent Center.

These centers previously reported outbreaks: Durham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has 111 cases. Treyborn Rehabilitation Center has 48 and there are four at Durham Veteran Affairs Healthcare System Community Nursing Home.

Here is a look at other Triangle counties.

Wake County

There are 782 cases, up from 765 Monday, and one new death. There are now 16 deaths.

Many of Wake County’s new cases are a result of more testing at the NC Correctional Institute for Women, The News & Observer reported. The state reported 81 cases there as of Tuesday afternoon. All are in the prison’s minimum-security camp known as the “Canary Unit.” Last week, there were less than a dozen cases.

More than 160 inmates in the camp were tested over the weekend, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety. While many tested positive, almost 100 tested negative.

Orange County

There are 209 cases, up from 207 Monday, and one new death. There are now 14 deaths.

Johnston County

There are 145 cases, up from 139 Monday. There are 13 deaths, with no new deaths reported.

Franklin County

Four more Louisburg Nursing Center residents have died from the coronavirus, the Franklin County Public Health Department said Tuesday.

There have now been 18 deaths at the facility. Five residents are hospitalized, and one more staff member has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Louisburg nursing home has the most deaths in congregate settings in the state, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

In North Carolina, there are 9,755 cases, according to state and local health departments in 96 counties with 363 deaths.

This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 9:12 PM.