Mata playing with his children. (Photo: Paradise Funeral Chapel)
A longtime state corrections officer at Ionia's Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in mid-Michigan has died of Covid-19.
The 45-year-old father of four, Ramiro Jose Mata of Lansing, died Jan. 9, the Lansing State Journal reports. He was a single father to his 6-year-old daughter. His other three children lived with his ex-wife.
Family members assume Mata, a prison guard for 20 years, caught the virus at work, says a sister, Christina Moore. He was turned away from work Dec. 28 with a fever and a positive virus test result came back five days later, she added.