3rd detainee with coronavirus dies as cases at Cook County Jail top 300

A third detainee with the coronavirus at the Cook County Jail has died, officials announced Sunday, as the number of confirmed cases among inmates rose past 300.

The 42-year-old man was diagnosed with COVID-19 and died Sunday at Stroger Hospital, the Cook County sheriff’s office said. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of death, but preliminary reports suggest he died of cardiac arrest.

The man was being held without bail on charges including armed robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated battery of a peace officer stemming from an October 2016 incident, Cook County court data shows.

The sheriff’s office also announced that 306 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday evening. Twenty were being treated at local hospitals while 32 have been relocated to a recovery facility, the sheriff’s office said.

Additionally, 218 sheriff’s office staff have tested positive for the coronavirus, the sheriff’s office said.

On Thursday, a 51-year-old man was the second inmate at Cook County Jail to die of the coronavirus. Days earlier, Jeffery Pendleton, 59, became the first detainee to die of the virus.

Pendleton’s family has since filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Tom Dart and Cook County, saying they had no right to shackle Pendleton to his hospital bed while he battled the virus.