RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Just a day ago, the Riverside County sheriff's department announced its first death due to the new coronavirus — a deputy stationed in Murrieta. Now a second deputy has died from complications due to COVID-19.

"We are saddened to announce the death of Deputy David Werksman, most recently assigned to Sheriff's Admin. Deputy Werksman passed away on Thursday, April 2, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones during this difficult time," the sheriff's department announced Friday morning on its Twitter feed. Werksman likely contracted the virus while attending a funeral for his mother, according to a press briefing Friday led by Sheriff Chad Bianco.

The disease hit Werksman early and hard. After battling the virus for about two weeks in quarantine at his home, the deputy's condition worsened and he was hospitalized "short of a week" prior to his death, the sheriff said. Werksman, a 22-year veteran of the sheriff's department, is survived by his wife and three grown children. He died in Corona, according to the sheriff's department.

Bianco, who knew Werksman on a personal level, called the deputy a great father, husband and son. "He was a great man," Bianco said.

"We ask that the community keep Deputy Werksman's family and colleagues in their prayers during this extremely emotional and challenging time," Riverside Sheriffs' Association President Bill Young said. "His death due to COVID-19 is the latest excruciating loss as a result of the silent killer COVID-19 for our association and the law enforcement community. His death is a grim reminder of the risks that our members face every day, serving the public in the face of this pandemic."

Earlier in his career, Werksman held posts at the Jurupa Valley and Lake Elsinore sheriff's stations, and the Riverside jail, according to Young.

He was later assigned to the department's Hazardous Device Team, becoming an FBI Certified Public Safety Bomb Technician, a HAZMAT specialist and a radiologic/nuclear first responder, among other accomplishments while at the department, Young said. A procession for Werksman, from the coroner's office in Perris to a mortuary in Riverside, will take place starting at 2 p.m. Friday, the sheriff's department announced.