AVOYELLES PARISH - As of Tuesday morning, novel coronavirus has been responsible for the deaths of over 1,300 Louisianians and on Monday evening, Raymond Laborde Correctional Center announced that its head warden and medical director both succumbed to the virus. 

According to The Advocate, Warden Sandy McCain, who'd served as the Correctional Center's head warden for the past four years and worked with the DOC for nearly three decades, died after battling COVID-19 for almost a month, Department of Corrections officials said. 

Dr. Casey McVea, the Center's medical director, also passed away due to virus complications over the weekend, according to DOC officials. 

McCain had tested positive last month, saying he planned to quarantine himself as a precautionary measure and asking the inmates in his care to "wash your hands and stay safe."

"In addition to being a respected leader and a gentleman, he was a dear friend," DOC Secretary James LeBlanc said in a statement Monday.

The news of the two deaths came mere hours after Louisiana's DOC announced the first virus-related death of a state inmate at Louisiana State Penitentiary.