First-grader died from coronavirus | the Chronicle

A freshman with no previous pathologies died of coronavirus in the northern state of Minnesota, the district public school chief reported, adding that 22 students and staff at that school were isolated.

The girl died Sunday in the city of Marshall, which has a population of 13,000, the district’s director of public schools, Jeremy Williams, said in a statement yesterday.

Willimas did not identify the girl or say how old she was, but did say she was in first grade at Park Side Elementary School.

In a letter sent to the parents of the students at the school, Williams said the news aroused “great regret” and that there were crisis teams providing psychological support to the students at the school, who will continue with. face-to-face lessons.

“I agree that this is scary for many. We encourage you to continue monitoring students for any sign of Covid-19,” he wrote, as reported by the local daily Marshall Independent.

“If the students start showing symptoms, please send them immediately for testing,” he added.

The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed the death, saying only the girl was under 10 years old.

Williams said 22 students and staff at the school in question had been placed in preventive quarantine.

But since the number of coronavirus cases in the district education system “is still very low”, the school will continue to give face-to-face lessons with the protocols of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he said. he adds.

The Minnesota Department of Health has said that while child deaths from the coronavirus are rare, they can occur in healthy children.

“Since the start of the pandemic, three Miinnesota boys under the age of 18 have died from Covid-19,” the department said in a statement yesterday.

State Governor Tim Walz said in a statement the girl’s death was “heartbreaking” and that she had no known prior pathology.