Jackson County, Missouri, reports its first coronavirus death, a woman in her 80s
A Jackson County woman died Friday, becoming the county’s first fatality from the novel coronavirus, officials announced at a news conference.
The woman was in her 80s and had no prior travel history, said county health director Bridgette Shaffer on Friday afternoon.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the family of the individual,” Shaffer said.
The woman is the second person in the state of Missouri to die from the virus. The first, a Boone County man in his 60s who had recently traveled overseas, was reported Wednesday.
There have been five cases of the virus reported in eastern Jackson County, Shaffer said. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 47 presumed positive cases of the virus in the state as of Friday morning.
“We have reason to believe that COVID-19 is now being spread by community transmission, therefore it is vital that everyone takes personal precautionary measures to protect not only themselves but the entire community,” Shaffer said.
In Kansas there have been at least 46 confirmed cases, 24 of those were reported in Johnson County, where officials suspect community transmission.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 2:16 PM.
