With family by her side, Mecklenburg jail officer dies of complications from COVID-19
With her family by her side, a longtime Mecklenburg County jail officer died at a Charlotte hospital this week due to complications from COVID-19.
Officer Coretta Jean Downing had been hospitalized since July 30, four days past her last day at work. She told her supervisor on July 29 she wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be at work that day, Sheriff Garry McFadden said in a news release.
Downing had worked at theMecklenburg County Detention Center since 2000. She was 51 years old, the sheriff said.
McFadden said the sheriff’s office is “deeply saddened.”Downing’s family requested that her photo not be released with the news of her death.
“Our hearts, prayers and condolences go out to her grieving family,” McFadden said in a statement. “This came as quite a surprise to our organization as we all are dealing with the grief of the passing of one of our own.”
The sheriff’s office was notified Thursday that Downing tested positive for COVID 19, according to McFadden. Officials began contact tracing and notified those who’d been in close contact with Downing, McFadden said.
“No residents housed in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center were at risk of exposure since Downing had been assigned to the control room since April,” according to the sheriff’s office news release.
Downing died at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, according to her funeral notice by Colvin Funeral Home in Lumberton, where Downing previously lived. Arrangements are pending.