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Ohio Prison System Resumes Accepting County Jail Inmates

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio prison system says it’s going to resume accepting inmates from county jails to begin their prison sentences.

The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction suspended inmate intake as the coronavirus pandemic spread to try to lower the overall prison population. Despite the move, nearly 4,500 inmates system-wide have tested positive, and 60 have died.

More than 570 employees have tested positive and two also died from COVID-19.

Prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith says the state will take up to 50 inmates a day at its Correctional Reception Center and hold them a minimum of 35 days