Eight inmates now have died of coronavirus at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex, according to data provided by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

All eight inmate deaths from COVID-19 have been at the medium-security prison. There were 93 reported positive open cases among inmates at Butner, with 56 at the medium-security facility, it was reported by the BOP’s Office of Occupational Health and Safety.

In April, Butner had one of the largest outbreaks of the virus among the country’s federal prisons. An inmate, Richard Cephas of Wilmington, Delaware, fled the camp, saying he feared he would catch the virus and die, but later turned himself in to authorities.

There are 883 inmates at Butner’s medium-security prison, according to BOP.

Nationally, BOP reported 2,338 federal inmates and 196 BOP staff members have confirmed positive tests for COVID-19. BOP reported there have been 57 federal inmate deaths and zero BOP staff member deaths attributed to coronavirus.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

919-829-8945

In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.