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Three women dead with COVID-19 at state prisons north of Ocala

The Florida Women's Reception Center and Lowell Correction Institution on the other side of Northwest Gainesville Road north of Ocala are reporting numerous cases of COVID-19. Image: Courtesy of Google Maps
The Florida Women's Reception Center and Lowell Correction Institution on the other side of Northwest Gainesville Road north of Ocala are reporting numerous cases of COVID-19. Image: Courtesy of Google Maps

Three inmates from women's prisons in Marion County have died with COVID-19.

The deaths come as cases soar at the two facilities north of Ocala.

Two deaths were at Lowell Correctional Institution, Florida's largest women's prison. And one was at nearby Florida Women's Reception Center.

[caption id="attachment_160505" align="alignleft" width="400"]

Florida prison system inmates, from left, Angela Brown, Martha Beatty and Adela Del Carmen Lara Ramirez have died with COVID-19. Photos: FDC[/caption]

- 56-year-old Angela Brown of Tampa died Wednesday, July 22, according to the Medical Examiner's Office. She had COVID-19 and heart disease and died of sepsis from a medical procedure.

- 75-year-old Martha Beatty, formerly of Mascotte, died Friday. She had COVID-19 and COPD and died of a blood clot in her lungs.

- 32-year-old Adela  Del Carmen Lara Ramirez of Naples died Saturday of COVID-19 pneumonia.

The number of positive coronavirus tests has rapidly increased.

At Lowell, 629 inmates and 20 staff members were infected. At the Women's Reception Center, it's 358 inmates and 22 employees.

Hundreds of test results are still pending.

 

Joe Byrnes came to Central Florida Public Media from the Ocala Star-Banner and The Gainesville Sun, where he worked as a reporter and editor for several years. Joe graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans and turned to journalism after teaching. He enjoys freshwater fishing and family gatherings.