Federal prison inmate in Fort Worth dies after testing positive for the coronavirus
A federal prison inmate in Fort Worth who tested positive for the coronavirus died Wednesday, according to prison officials.
Arnoldo Almeida, 61, went into respiratory distress at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth on April 16.
Almeida, who had long-term, pre-existing medical conditions, was evaluated by medical staff and taken to a local hospital for further treatment and evaluation, a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said.
Almeida had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 13, and was immediately placed in isolation, the release said.
Almeida’s condition worsened and he was placed on a ventilator on Saturday.
Almeida was sentenced in the Western District of Texas to nearly 16 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, according to federal officials.
Almeida had been in custody since Sept. 18, 2018, in the Fort Worth facility, which houses 1,528 male offenders, according to the release.
FMC Fort Worth had 56 inmates and one staff member with known cases of the coronavirus as of Wednesday, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 1:55 PM.
