2 Texas correctional officers test positive for COVID-19, die from complications, officials say

Two correctional officers with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice have died due to possible complications with COVID-19, according to TDCJ officials.

Correctional Officer Maria Mendez, 59, of the Wynne Unit, was hospitalized after experiencing shortness of breath after work on April 12, officials said. She also had a cough and a slight fever. She was then hospitalized in Houston April 15 and was placed on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit. Mendez did test positive for the virus, officials said.

Mendez passed away Saturday, May 9, according to the TDCJ. She served with the department for almost 11 years.

Correctional Officer Jesse Bolton, 62, began feeling ill with stroke-like symptoms and was hospitalized May 6, officials said. Bolton tested negative for COVID-19 and was later taken to Conroe Regional Hospital, where he was put on life support. He died May 8th at 4 p.m., according to TDCJ.

Bolton was tested for the coronavirus again and tested positive, officials said.

“Even in these unprecedented times there are moments that are especially jarring,” said Bryan Collier, TDCJ executive director, in a statement. “Losing any employee is difficult but learning of two deaths in a single day is unthinkable. The thoughts and prayers of the entire agency are with all the family and friends of both Officers Mendez and Bolton.”

The TDCJ reported seven employee deaths so far that are connected to COVID-19. There are also 27 offender deaths from COVID-19 and another 17 offender deaths that are under investigation, officials said.

Currently, 582 TDCJ employees, staff or contractors have tested positive for the virus and 1,427 offenders. A total of 20,277 offenders are on medical restriction because they may have had contact with others that had a positive or pending test for the virus, officials said.

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March. The first case confirmed in the U.S. was in mid-January and the first case confirmed in San Antonio was in mid-February.

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