Marin County seeing rapid rise in COVID-19 cases

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Marin County is one of the Bay Area counties seeing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.

Marin County's Department of Public Health reports there are currently 1,068 cases, and another 505 at San Quentin State Prison.

Of the 1,068 cases, 713 people recovered, 60 needed hospitalization, and 18 people died.

Marin is the only Bay Area county experiencing an increase in both hospitalizations and the percentage of positive tests over the past two weeks.

Authorities report workplace clusters, including at the Marin Sanitary Service recycling center in San Rafael, where 43 employees tested positive.

The largest outbreak is at San Quentin, where 505 inmates and staff have now tested positive.

The number of infections was at about 100 last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Department of Corrections announced that the Marin County Coroner is investigating the death of an inmate and whether it involved the coronavirus.

 Richard Stitely, 71, died Wednesday night in his cell on death row.

He was found unresponsive, and there were no visible signs of trauma.

Stitley was convicted in 1992 of the rape and murder of a 47-year-old woman in Reseda.

San Quentin State Prison