Luzerne County has first female coronavirus death

Luzerne County lost its first female to coronavirus, an 81-year-old woman with preexisting health conditions, county Manager C. David Pedri said Wednesday.

Also added to the pandemic victims were two more men 72 and 73 years old, also with preexisting conditions, Pedri said.

There were no reports of travel outside the country by the three, he said.

The county now has 1,134 confirmed cases and 11 deaths, according to state health department statistics released Wednesday.

All eight prior victims were men. The youngest was 48, and the oldest was 88. Another was 69, and the remaining five were in their 70s.

It was unclear if one of the 75-year-old victims had underlying health issues, but the others did.

While concerned that continued reporting of the statistics will pain family members of the deceased, Pedri said he will continue readily furnishing the basic available information upon media request to keep the public aware of the danger.

Pedri said he is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and state governor’s office on “many different initiatives that I hope will be moving forward in the next few days.”