MDH reports first COVID related death in a student, two additional staff deaths reported

(ABC 6 News) – Thursday the Minnesota Department of Health reported its first COVID-19 related death in a student. Two additional school staff members have also died bring the total staff members with COVID-19 related deaths this school year to five.

In a statement Thursday, Education Minnesota said "school leaders around the state must do more to protect students and staff from the dangerous delta variant of the coronavirus."

"Five school staff members and one student have died of COVID-19 this school year and it’s only October,” said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. “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.”

According to the MDH COVID data website, a person between the ages of 15 and 19-years-old in Hennepin County is listed as a death reported today.

“The loss of this student is a tragedy that every educator will feel,” Specht said.

“We’re asking parents to please reduce the risk of another tragic death of a student by vaccinating their teens. When the vaccine becomes available to younger children, vaccinate them, too.”

According to Education Minnesota, "since August 2020 there have been 38,737 COVID -19 cases associated with schools of all kinds and 363 hospitalizations of students and staff. 66 staff and students have been admitted to intensive care units."