Cook County reports first COVID-19 death as cases rise

Cook County confirmed the first COVID-19 related fatality today. 

The person who died was between ages 75 and 79, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Public health officials declined to share more information with WTIP regarding the situation.   

Cook is the last county in Minnesota to report a death from COVID-19 among its local population. All other 86 counties across the state have reported multiple deaths among their local residents.

According to local public health and healthcare officials, they are unable to share additional details about the case due to medical privacy.  In addition, because of the time it takes for case information to transfer to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the death may not appear on the MDH or local hub site for several days.

Since the COVID pandemic first arrived to the state in March 2020, more than 9,380 people have died from complications of COVID-19 in Minnesota.

Minnesota has the highest rate of infections over the past week among all 50 states, according to the CDC.

Minnesota also had the eighth highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in the nation over the past seven days, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker.

According to the most recent data from local public health officials, there are at least nine active cases of COVID-19 in Cook County. At least 323 local residents have tested positive for the virus since the onset of the pandemic.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated Dec. 2 to show the age of the person who died.