Fifth Alaska inmate dies with COVID-19 during pandemic

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Officials say an Alaska inmate has died from coronavirus complications, becoming the fifth inmate in the state to die of COVID-19 as the state grapples with prison outbreaks. The Alaska Department of Corrections said in a statement on Sunday that the 76-year-old man was taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center on Nov. 30, nearly a month before he died on Dec. 26. The department did not identify the man. It was not immediately clear if the man had any underlying health conditions which may have made him more vulnerable to the virus. He is the fourth inmate to die of COVID-19 at Goose Creek Correctional Center, the state’s largest prison.