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AND MERCER HAS ONE WITH A TOTAL OF 71. ACROSS THE STATE, WE HAVE 644 CASES ACCORDING TO HEALTH OFFICIALS. SIX PEOPLE HAVE DIED INCLUDING ONE IN ALLEGANY COUNTY. AN ADDITIONAL 191 CASES W

Advertisement Allegheny County confirms second COVID-19 death 78-year-old woman died of "acute respiratory distress syndrome, due to COVID-19 virus infection," according to medical examiner's office Share Shares Copy Link Copy

UPDATE: The medical examiner's office has released more information, saying that Ofelia Rousseva, 78, of Pittsburgh, was found unresponsive March 19 at a home in the 800 block of Flemington Street in the city's Greenfield neighborhood. The cause of death was listed as "acute respiratory distress syndrome, due to COVID-19 virus infection."In an earlier statement, the county Health Department said that the presence of COVID-19 was not discovered until after the woman's death, and that she had other health conditions that may have delayed recognition of COVID-19.PREVIOUS STORY: The Allegheny County Health Department has confirmed a second coronavirus death in the county Tuesday.The Allegheny County Health Department released the following statement:"It is with a great deal of sadness that we advise you that Allegheny County had a second death as a result of COVID-19. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of this individual on their loss.This person’s positive status was not known until after the death. As this case is a Medical Examiner’s Office case, there will be additional information released by that office according to protocols. We are hopeful that the public and the media will be respectful of this family during this difficult time.Because this is a Medical Examiner’s case, we are providing more information on this case than we would normally. This will not be our department’s standard practice. The individual who died is a female in her late 70s. She had no recent travel but did have other health issues that may have delayed recognition of COVID-19. Medics who responded to a 9-1-1 call were wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). After reporting the symptoms to the Medical Examiner’s office, COVID-19 testing was performed. After results came back positive, the Health Department began contact tracing based on information from the family, whose members have also been placed into self-isolation. There is no further information available to the public at this time.Moving forward, we will provide all deaths related to COVID-19 in the daily notice issued by the Health Department at 11 AM. That notice will reference a general age of the individual, and whether that person was hospitalized at the time of their death."As of March 24, there are 58 active cases of coronavirus in Allegheny County. Six of those are currently hospitalized.