By Sarah Calams
NEW YORK — A Rikers Island correctional officer has died from COVID-19.
NY1.com reported that NYC DOC Officer Elvester McKoy, 38, went to the hospital two weeks ago after feeling ill at work. He tested positive for COVID-19 and was later found unresponsive inside his home on April 6.
“We don’t even know exactly how he contracted the virus,” McKoy’s sister, Geraldine Venson, said. “If he got it from transporting the inmates, or from his facility where he worked or if he got it from transporting the inmates to the hospital, we are not really sure.”
McKoy joined the department in 2015 — a position Venson said “meant a lot to him.”
“He loved his job so much; he wanted my daughter to become a correctional officer,” she said.
Outside of working in corrections, McKoy, who attended culinary school in San Francisco, was passionate about cooking. Dubbed “Chef Ves,” he posted dozens of cooking videos on his YouTube channel.
McKoy leaves behind his wife and 6-year-old son.