First Death Due to COVID-19 in Minnesota Confirmed

The Minnesota Department of Health has reported the first death of a Minnesota resident from COVID-19.

The individual, who died on March 19th, was a Ramsey County resident in their 80s who had recently tested positive for COVID-19 and was in contact with someone who was earlier confirmed to have the disease.

In a statement from the Department of Health, Governor Tim Walz, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, and Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm expressed their sympathies and condolences to the victim’s friends and family and stressed the importance of further preventing the spread of the disease.

“Our condolences go out to the family and friends of the patient,” Malcolm said. “We’ve all seen reports of outbreak-related deaths in other states and countries, but this Minnesota death reminds us how important it is to continue working to protect each other during this outbreak.”

As of Saturday, March 21st, Minnesota had 137 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up from 115 a day earlier.