4th Cook County Jail detainee dies after positive virus test

CHICAGO (AP) - A 64-year-old man awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge has become the fourth Cook County Jail detainee to die after testing positive for the coronavirus, authorities said.

The sheriff's department, which runs the jail, said Karl Battiste died Sunday at Stroger Hospital, where he had been treated since April 14. Battiste tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, but his official cause of death won't be determined until an autopsy is conducted.

Battiste had been in custody since his arrest in January 2019 in the shooting death of a man earlier that month. He was being held without bond. According to Chicago police at the time, Battiste and a 55-year-old man had been arguing over garbage in a hallway of an apartment building when Battiste allegedly retrieved a handgun from his apartment, returned and shot the man in the head.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

As of late Sunday, the sheriff's office said 194 detainees with 'œmild-to-moderate'ť COVID-19 were being treated by the county-operated hospital, located at the jail, with another 21 being treated at area hospitals.

Meanwhile, amid the virus outbreak at the jail, judges since late March have been holding hearings in an effort to secure the release of as many nonviolent offenders as quickly as possible. The population of the jail has dropped by more than 1,100 to 4,233 as of late last week.