Lake County

An inmate at North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin has died after contracting COVID-19.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons indicated the death on its website, Friday.

The site shows 27 inmates are currently confirmed sick with COVID-19, while 56 inmates have recovered from the disease.

The prison holds 1,560 immigrants who have been convicted of federal crimes and will be deported following their sentence.

Clarification 5/21: The following story was edited to clarify statements made by GEO Group. A representative from GEO Group says the company has not been aware of any hunger strikes at North Lake Correctional Facility and that the prisoners' allegations are false. 

Update 5/21: No Detention Centers in Michigan says the North Lake inmates ended their hunger strike on Monday after some situations improved.

About a dozen incarcerated immigrants started a new hunger strike on Friday at the North Lake Correctional Facility to protest their treatment. The activist group No Detention Centers in Michigan reported it’s the fourth strike they’ve been alerted to at the Baldwin facility in the last three months.

Update 5/13/20: The Federal Bureau of Prisons began publishing data about privately-managed federal prisons around May 8. That information can be found here. 

On April 21, IPR reported there were nine inmates at the North Lake Correctional Facility who tested positive with COVID-19. 

Since that story was published, IPR has been unable to obtain further information about the number of inmates who are sick, who have died or recovered from the disease. 

Nine inmates at the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin tested positive for COVID-19, according to the state.

Last week, GEO Group — the company that owns the prison — said five prison employees also have the disease.

Updated 4/16/20 with additional North Lake worker who tested positive.

Five employees at a North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin tested positive for COVID-19.

Inmates who interacted with infected employees are in medical quarantine, says GEO Group, the prison operator.

North Lake Correctional Facility is a federal prison that holds up to 1,700 immigrants who’ve been convicted of felonies.

Immigration Customs Enforcement will get help from a northern Michigan county jail to hold and transport immigrants.