FORT DODGE, Iowa - The state prison at Fort Dodge continues to see a spike in COVID-19 cases.
The facility now has 119 positive cases,a sharp rise from 61 as of last Wednesday. There were 39 cases one week ago, after the first case was reported in late June. There are only two other COVID-19 cases among Iowa's eight other prisons.
There are also nine COVID-19 cases reported in staff members at the Fort Dodge prison.
An inmate from Fort Dodge died last week from the virus. Seventy-one year-old Ray Allen Vanlengen died after being taken to the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City Monday over the seriousness of his illness. His death is linked to COVID-19 and multiple preexisting medical conditions.
Vanlengen had been serving a 100-year maximum sentence for four convictions of Sexual Abuse 2nd Degree in Black Hawk County.