UMATILLA — Three inmates who tested positive for COVID-19 in the ongoing outbreak at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla died over the weekend, according to press releases from the Oregon Department of Corrections, bringing the death toll among adults in custody at the prison to seven since January began.

More than 500 inmates and 74 staff at TRCI have tested positive for COVID-19 since infection began to spread rapidly through the prison in December 2020. The institution is suffering the largest outbreak among prisons in Oregon, with 268 active cases among AICs as of Thursday, Jan. 14, according to data from the department of corrections.

The first two inmates who died over the weekend were between 75 to 85 years old and died on Saturday, Jan. 16, the press releases said. The third was between 55 and 65 and died on Sunday, Jan. 17. Each died at a local hospital.

The department of corrections did not disclose the names of the inmates who died. It also did not disclose whether they had underlying health conditions.

Two Rivers has reported more COVID-19 cases among AICs than any other prison in Oregon since the pandemic began, with 599 cases, and the third most among staff, with 107 cases, according to ODOC data. 

Since the pandemic began, 32 inmates in Oregon prisons have died after testing positive for COVID-19. In all, nearly 2,994 inmates and 744 staff have tested positive.