COVID-19 Cases and Fatalities Rise in Georgia Prisons
The next devastating outbreak of COVID-19 is occurring at Johnson State Prison in Wrightsville, Georgia. The number of positive cases of the virus has more than tripled in the last week, living up to the fears of the families of incarcerated individuals, and advocates nationwide.
Christopher Lanham, 30, is one of over a dozen incarcerated individuals at Johnson afraid for his life. Lanham suffers from a progressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that greatly compromises the immune system. His cancer was diagnosed at stage IIB, indicating that the disease has spread across two lymph node sites. NHL patients with subtype ‘B’ symptoms are at an advanced stage and require more aggressive treatment than those without them[1]. The most common cause of death in Lanham’s condition results from complications stemming from an infection.
There are more positive cases of COVID-19 inside Johnson State Prison than there are in Johnson County overall. The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) had confirmed 1 positive case among the incarcerated population on April 5th. Today, at least fourteen incarcerated individuals at Johnson have tested positive for COVID-19. One case has proven fatal, and according to sources, three additional inmates in the prison are exhibiting symptoms.
