Andrea Circle Bear, 30, died Tuesday, about a month after she was hospitalized while serving a 26-month sentence for maintaining a drug-involved premises.
She is the 29th federal inmate to die in the Bureau of Prisons custody since late March. She is also the first woman. As of Tuesday, more than 1,700 federal inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. About 400 of those inmates have recovered.
She was taken to a local hospital on March 28 for “potential concerns regarding her pregnancy,” but was discharged from the hospital the same day and brought back to the prison, officials said. Three days later, prison medical staff members decided she should be brought back to the hospital after she developed a fever, dry cough and other symptoms, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Circle Bear was put on a ventilator the same day she arrived at the hospital and her baby was born the next day by C-section, officials said. She tested positive for COVID-19 days later, on April 4.
The BOP did not disclose information about the baby’s health.