MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A second student has died this year as a result of a school-related COVID-19 infection, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Health.
Three students have died due to COVID-19 infections related to schools since the pandemic began, and 18 staff members have died in total.
“This is tragic news and I hope Minnesotans can pull together and do all we can to prevent another student from dying of this virus,” said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota.
Information identifying the student was not released in the MDH report.
Data also shows that over 47,000 PreK-12 students have tested positive for the virus in connection to attending school.
On Thursday, Minnesota’s latest positivity rate continued to tick up, reaching 11.9%, the highest figure reported as of Dec. 1, due to data lag. It’s the highest the positivity rate has been since last December.