TOPEKA — An inmate at Larned Correctional Facility has died from COVID-19 — the fifth state prison inmate to die from the coronavirus since the pandemic began, the Kansas Department of Corrections announced Thursday.
Junior Lee Chrismon, 68, died in a hospital Monday. Chrisman, who was serving a 52-month sentence on drug charges out of Montgomery County, tested positive Aug. 15 and also had underlying health conditions, the agency said.
Four inmates at Lansing Correctional Facility also have died from COVID-19, along with two staff members at Lansing and one employee at the Topeka Correctional Center.
The corrections department said 202 inmates at Larned have contracted the virus.
Overall, 1,750 inmates and 238 employees have tested positive for COVID-19, which has been found at all 10 of the state prison department’s facilities.
Kansas reported 47,410 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 495 deaths on Wednesday, an increase of 494 new cases and 10 deaths since Monday.
