County jail in Nebraska locked down after virus outbreak

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — One of Nebraska’s largest county jails is locked down after an outbreak of the coronavirus among inmates, and a state prison inmate with the virus has died.

Lancaster County officials said Tuesday that their jail was locked down as a precaution after 12 inmates tested positive for COVID-19.

All of the ill inmates are being treated in the jail’s infirmary and more testing is being done in the two housing units where they had been held.  

Separately, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said Tuesday that an inmate in his 70s died at a Lincoln hospital.

The department said the inmate had COVID-19 and other underlying medical conditions.