The first Rikers Island inmate has died from coronavirus, according to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Deputy Press Secretary Avery Cohen.

The death occurred April 5 at Bellevue Hospital, according to the city’s Department of Corrections. The department has a permanent facility at Bellevue.

"Our deepest condolences go out to the detainee's family in their time of grief," Peter Thorne, the city’s DOC Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, told CNN in a statement. "The safety and well-being of those in our custody remains our number one priority."

A Department of Corrections spokesperson told CNN Thursday that it was not identifying the inmate pending family notification, but noted that the inmate was admitted to Bellevue on March 26.

The spokesperson also said that all inmates and staff are screened for potential Covid-19 symptoms upon entry to any facility on Rikers.

As of last Friday, face masks are being distributed to all staff and inmates, the spokesperson said.

About the jail: In October, the New York City Council voted overwhelmingly to close Rikers Island open four new borough-based facilities instead.

"Today is a day that the history books will look back on as a good day for New York City," Council Speaker Corey Johnson said. "This is a step forward, this is progress, this is the right thing to do."

The jail, which is on an island in the East River, has become a symbol of the ills of pretrial detention, most famously in the case of Kalief Browder. Browder took his own life after spending three years incarcerated at Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime.

The jail is also notorious for its violence and poor conditions. The US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York reached a settlement with the city in 2015 after a multi-year investigation found adolescent inmates were not protected from "the rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force by New York City Department of Correction staff and violence inflicted by other inmates."