San Francisco reports first COVID-19 death: a man in his 40s

San Francisco reported its first coronavirus-related death on Tuesday. San Francisco reported its first coronavirus-related death on Tuesday. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close San Francisco reports first COVID-19 death: a man in his 40s 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

San Francisco health officials reported the county's first death of a resident with COVID-19 on Tuesday evening.

The patient who passed away was a man in his 40s with "multiple, significant" underlying health conditions, officials said in a statement.

“My condolences go out to this San Franciscan and their loved ones. It is a sad day, and we need to pull together as a City to do everything in our power to reduce the likelihood of additional deaths in our community,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said. “Each of us has the power to save lives and decrease the impact of coronavirus in San Francisco."

As of Tuesday evening, the city has 151 patients who have tested positive for novel coronavirus. Experts have said there are many more cases that haven't been reported due to the limited availability of testing.

"From the beginning of this outbreak, we have focused on protecting vulnerable populations — including people with chronic health conditions — because we know they are at greater risk of getting very sick and even dying from COVID-19," said Dr. Grant Colfax, the director of the SF Department of Public Health. “On behalf of the Department of Public Health, I extend my sincere condolences to this man’s loved ones. This is a difficult time for our city, but we will get through it together. I strongly urge every San Franciscan to continue staying home to save lives.”

In a press conference Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state has seen 40 deaths and 2,102 cases of novel coronavirus (not including those passengers who tested positive on the Grand Princess cruise). Of the total infected patients, half are between the ages of 18 and 49, the governor said.

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Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.