Cambridge Reports First COVID-19 Death, Officials Warn of Further Community Transmission

The Cambridge Public Health Department announced the city’s first death due to COVID-19 complications in a press release Sunday.

The Cambridge resident, a male in his 80s, was previously hospitalized for COVID-19.

“On behalf of the entire city, we express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the resident who passed away as a result of this illness,” Cambridge Chief Public Health Officer Claude Jacob said in the press release.

The deceased patient was one of 12 retirement-age Cambridge residents who have tested positive for the virus. That said, patients between 20 and 29 years-old make up the plurality of local cases, with 16 testing positive in that age group.

The risk posed by the coronavirus outbreak remains high in the city and in the Greater Boston Area. Seventy Cambridge residents have tested positive as of March 29. Statewide, there are currently 4,955 confirmed cases and 48 deaths, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The Cambridge Public Health Department warned that the number of confirmed Cambridge cases continues to rise due to “widespread community transmission” and “increased testing.”

COVID-19 counts in Cambridge may be higher than currently reported due to untested or asymptomatic cases, a Cambridge Public Health Department announcement read.

“All Cambridge residents should consider themselves at risk of infection” city officials wrote in the release, continuing to recommend stringent self-isolation and social distancing precautions.

—Staff writer Simon J. Levien can be reached at simon.levien@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @simonjlevien.