First teen dies from COVID-19 since start of pandemic, MDH reports

(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Health reported the state's first death of a teen due to COVID-19 on Thursday.

A teen reported being between the ages 15-19 in Hennepin County was one of the 26 newly reported deaths due to COVID-19.

Education Minnesota officials said the teen was the first death of a student from COVID-19 this school year. Additionally, two more staff deaths were reported.

"Five school staff members and one student have died of COVID-19 this school year and it’s only October," Education Minnesota President Denise Specht said in a press release. "There is no excuse for any district leader to ignore the guidelines for masking, social distancing, quarantining and vaccinations set out by state and federal public health authorities."

Since the beginning of the pandemic, two students and 13 school staff members have died from COVID-19.

The teen death is believed to be the fourth under the age of 19 from COVID-19 in Minnesota. The first child in Minnesota to die from COVID-19 was a 9-month-old infant in Clay County in July 2020. The second was a child in Chippewa County between the ages of 5 and 9 in February. The third child was under 10 years old from southwestern Minnesota and died from the virus in April. 

The total number of deaths from COVID-19 in Minnesota is now 8,515.