Lt. Delmar Dean of Weirton is the second corrections officer in West Virginia to die of COVID-19. He died on Jan. 13.
Dean was 49 years old and served at the Northern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in Moundsville.
Gov. Jim Justice announced the death at his Monday COVID-19 press briefing. He expressed his sympathy for the family. Dean is survived by a wife and two daughters.
“Think about this family. Daughters 13 and 10 years old lost their daddy, and a beautiful wife of 15 years lost her husband,” Justice said.
Justice said there are currently 43 cases of COVID-19 in the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation system. That includes 14 staff members. The rest are active inmate cases, with 24 in the Southern Regional Jail and the remaining five spread throughout other locations.
Cpl. Mark Rustemeyer was the first corrections officer in West Virginia to die from COVID-19. He died on Jan. 2. There have been 725 positive test results among staff, including contract employees in the system.
Nine inmates have died from COVID-19 and another 10 deaths are still waiting for confirmation.