Scott Thomas Erskine, 57, and Manuel Machado Alvarez, 59, died on Friday of “what appear to be complications related to Covid-19,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
Both men had been hospitalized outside of prison.
Earlier this week, authorities confirmed that Richard Stitely, another death row inmate who went unanswered in his cell, had the virus. That was the first known coronavirus-related death at the facility.
A prisoner on the fourth death row, Joseph Safarino Cordova, died Wednesday, but it is unclear if he tested positive for the virus.
The deaths of 24 people incarcerated in state jails have been linked to Covid-19, the CDCR said.
San Quentin is among the numerous jails and prisons across the country that have become hotbeds of the virus.
State officials said they increased the evidence among inmates and staff and recently created a “unified command center” at the prison to coordinate the medical response to Covid-19 cases.
“Tens of thousands of additional pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) were shipped to San Quintín and distributed to inmates and staff and strict guidelines were provided ordering their use while on the institution grounds,” he said. CDCR on Friday.
Erskine has been on California death row since 2004. He was sentenced for the 1993 murders of 13-year-old Charles Keever and 9-year-old Jonathon Sellers, who were last seen riding a bicycle in San Diego.
Álvarez has been on death row since 1989. He was convicted of first-degree murder, vehicle theft, forced rape and first-degree robbery for crimes committed over a four-day period in 1987, the correctional department said.
CNN’s Topher Gauk-Roger contributed to this report.
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