OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma man in his 50s died after testing positive for the coronavirus, marking the state's first death linked to the pandemic, health officials announced Thursday.

The Tulsa County man tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and died Wednesday, the Tulsa Health Department said.

“This is a tragedy for our community," said the department's executive director, Dr. Bruce Dart. "In these unprecedented times, everyone feels the weight of this loss.”

The Metro Pentecostal Church in Tulsa identified the victim as Merle Dry, 55, and said in a post on its Facebook page that Dye had been “fighting a cold" and had not been attending church services recently.