An outbreak of the COVID-19 virus is continuing to run amok at the federal prison in Coleman.
As of Friday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was reporting 372 cases of the potentially deadly virus among 297 inmates and 75 staff members. On July 16, the prison, which houses more than 5,700 inmates in its low-, medium- and high-security wings, reported one death and 101 cases among 85 inmates and 16 staff members.
The majority of the Coronavirus cases – 173 – have been reported in the low-security wing of the massive complex. Of those, 155 are inmates and 18 are staff members. Three inmates and two staff members also are listed as recovered on a Federal Bureau of Prisons report.
Another 143 cases have been reported in the medium-security wing. Those include 120 inmates and 23 staff members. Of those, four inmates have recovered from the virus.
Fifty-six cases also have been reported in the high-security wings among 22 inmates and 34 staff members. As of Friday, two inmates and three staff members had recovered from the illness.
Overall, the Federal Bureau of Prisons houses close to 143,129 inmates in facilities across the United States and has a staff of about 36,000. As of Friday, 4,251 prisoners and 400 staff members had confirmed positive test results for COVID-19.
All told, 5,891 federal inmates and 676 staff members have recovered from the Coronavirus. But 99 inmates and one staff member have died as a result of the illness.
The Coleman prison complex sits on about 1,600 acres and as of 2010 was the largest correctional facility operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The inmates at the facility, on average, serve sentences of about 10 years.
Over the years, the prison has housed a variety of high-profile inmates. Convicted pedophile Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University team doctor, was moved there in August 2018 after allegedly being attacked in an Arizona prison. Somalia pirate Gabul Abdullah Ali and al-Qaeda sympathizer Amine El Khalifi also were believed to have served time there. And the late James “Whitey” Bulger, the famed Boston crime boss, was moved there in late 2014.
This past April, former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown was released from the facility after completing less than half of her 60-month sentence for corruption and fraud charges. The 73-year Brown is serving the remainder of her sentence under home confinement. She suffers from high blood pressure, sleep apnea, low estrogen and acid reflux and was released because of concerns surrounding the Coronavirus.
