The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported the first COVID-19 associated deaths in the state on Wednesday morning.

According to a release from Governor Roy Cooper’s press office, the department reports a North Carolinian from Cabarrus County died on Tuesday from complications associated with the virus. The patient is described as having been in their late seventies and having had several underlying medical conditions.

NCDHHS said a second person also died in the state from COVID-19 complications: a Virginian traveling through North Carolina. The department described that person as in their sixties.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones,” said Cooper in the release. “This is a stark warning that for some people COVID-19 is a serious illness. All of us must do our part to stop the spread by staying at home as much as possible and practicing social distancing.”

To protect the families’ privacy, NCDHHS will release no further information about these patients. But their ages place both in the range of those at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19. In addition to those 65 years of age or older, those who live in nursing homes, have chronic lung diseases or moderate to severe asthma and those with compromised immune systems face a high risk of infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

North Carolina has taken several steps to mitigate the spread of the virus around the state. Cooper recently called for all schools to hold exclusively online instruction until May 15, for many businesses to temporarily close and for bars and restaurants to cease serving dine-in to customers in efforts to promote social distancing.

As of Wednesday morning, the number of positive cases reported in North Carolina exceeded 500, with the state completing more than 10,000 tests.

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