COVID-19 was cited as a cause of death for prisoners in York County as a prison was declared outbreak.

According to the state coroner’s office, COVID-19 contributed to the deaths of prisoners who were virus-positive at the time of the outbreak in York County Prison.

This week, the office said stroke was the main cause of the death of 47-year-old Jason Dagle last month, but examination and review of his medical records identified the coronavirus as a serious condition. The discovery differs from the comments made by the highest public health authorities in Maine at the time. Those who said death has nothing to do with the virus..

Jason daigle Photo courtesy of the Daigle family

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Maine has declared that the outbreak in York County Prison ended last week. Almost half of prisoners and staff tested positive for the disease, which spread to families and contributed to the surge in cases in York County.Interviews and internal documents Revealed that prison did not follow safety protocolEven rejecting inmates’ masks and discouraging orthodontists from wearing them.

“Government officials should be held liable if they unnecessarily endanger people’s lives,” said Megan Sway, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union in Maine. “Mr. Dagle and his family deserve accountability. Members of the York County community who have elected these officials and are also at risk from these failures deserve accountability.”

Dagle, who lived in Berwick, died on September 20 at a local hospital after experiencing what authorities had previously explained only: “Medical problems” in prison. This week, the coroner’s office announced a cerebrovascular accident or stroke due to his ultimate cause of death, hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

In addition to its causes, the Secretariat has also listed two important conditions, hemophilia and COVID-19, which are hereditary diseases that prevent blood from coagulating normally. The administrator said that a particular diagnosis could not be discussed, but the explanation included a medical condition that contributed to the death of the person but was not the direct cause.

Portland Press Herald requested a copy of the full report for the office, but had not yet received it on Friday.

State and county officials previously said that Daigle was among the dozens of prisoners infected with the virus during an outbreak in prison. However, Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the main CDC, said last month: Male death had nothing to do with COVID-19 Because he recovered and was no longer isolated.

“In addition, the clinical features surrounding the individual’s passage had nothing to do with COVID-19,” Shah said at the time, without further explanation.

A spokesman said on Friday that authorities had not changed the classification based on the coroner’s decision.

“As Dr. Shah stated when the death of this individual was reported, a review of the medical records of the main CDC did not meet the criteria of the main CDC that death was classified as related to COVID-19. “I decided,” Robert Long wrote in an email. “The Main CDC classifies deaths as related to COVID-19 and makes no decisions about the cause of death.”

Long did not answer questions about the relationship between stroke and the virus and how the CDC counts COVID-19-related deaths when someone exceeds their recovery period.

Medical professionals are studying the link between COVID-19 and stroke. Doctors started issuing the alarm last spring When you notice an increasing number of reports of stroke in young and middle-aged people who test positive for the virus. Dr. Babakunabi, an associate professor of neurology and neuroscience at Weil Cornell Medicine and medical director at the Weil Cornell Stroke Center in New York, I wrote a blog post for patients About that connection in August.

“I think there are links that need to be confirmed in large, high-quality studies,” Navi wrote. “I think the association is driven by multiple factors. First, infections and inflammation increase the risk of stroke. COVID-19 is an infection that causes a strong inflammatory response from the body. Second, COVID-19 appears to cause heart events such as heart attack, dangerous heart rhythms. All of these factors can cause stroke. Third, COVID-19 is serious and serious. Patients may be at increased risk of stroke if they are severely ill and have multiple organs failing, including renal failure.The last potential explanation is , How COVID-19 affects the body’s coagulation system. It seems to promote thrombosis, as evidenced by laboratory studies, but the exact method is unknown. “

Dagle’s family does not respond to interview requests from the coroner’s office.

According to background checks, Daigle has never been convicted of a crime in Maine. He was arrested in June and charged with scheduled illegal trafficking of drugs. The judge set the bail at $ 2,500.

Defendant lawyer Nathan Hitchcock, who represented Dagle at the time of his death, described him as follows: “Honest and compassionate person.”

“During a pandemic, betting is literally life and death,” Hitchcock said. “Jason Dagle lost his chance on the second shot of his life.”

ACLU’s Sway in Maine described a “series of failures.”

“The coroner’s report seems to indicate that Mr. Dagle was infected with COVID when he died,” she said in an email. “Whether COVID was the ultimate cause of death, Mr. Daigle should not have been exposed to it. More tragically, Mr. Daigle was alone in prison and far from those who care about him. I shouldn’t have died away.

“A series of failures brought about this tragic situation. The first failure: a criminal law system that continues unreliable policies from the drug war. The second failure: a local prosecutor charges Mr. Dagle and is reasonably priced Decided to set a narcotics and keep him trapped during a highly contagious and deadly pandemic. Final failure: did not implement basic COVID precautions in York County Prison Security Officer Office. The security officer unnecessarily exposed his detained staff and people to a fatal illness. “

This outbreak was one of the largest single-site outbreaks to date in Maine, and was by far the largest outbreak in correctional facilities. Prison employees attended a wedding on August 7 in the Millinocket area. The wedding is currently considered a Superspreader event related to more than 170 incidents throughout the state.

Two weeks later, by the time the first person in prison was tested positive for the virus, almost half of the prisoners and orthodontists had been infected. According to the Main CDC, the total number of cases related to prison outbreaks was 87. This includes household contacts for 48 prisoners, 19 people working in the building, and 20 employees. Interviews and emails to prison staff showed Most prisoners were not allowed to wear masks, and guards were discouraged from wearing masks to prevent panic.

York County manager Greg Ginser did not respond to emails or messages at his office on Friday.

In a news release earlier that day, Ginser announced that the main CDC had ended the outbreak in prison. This means that there were no new cases associated with prison for 28 days. The mayor also said that no prisoners are currently receiving treatment related to COVID-19 and all personnel have returned to work.

“Since the prison broke out in August, we have been able to work closely with staff and the CDC to stop the spread of the infection and help affected prisoners and team members return to good health. I did everything I could, “said Ginser.

The county asked an outside lawyer To investigate the outbreak But so far we have shared some details. According to the news release, the process is still in progress. Ginser also said prisons follow best practices for personal protective equipment, social distance, and testing.

“We make sure that all safety protocols are adhered to and promise to do everything we can to prevent future outbreaks,” York County Commissioner Michael Court said in a news release. Said.

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