NEW: Health Commissioner announces first COVID child death in Virginia

The Virginia Department of Health on Thursday confirmed a juvenile under the age of 9 has died from COVID-19.

Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver said this is the state’s first virus fatality involving a child. He noted that the juvenile from Central Virginia who was not identified also had complications from a chronic health condition.

Oliver noted that children have not been spared from the pandemic with 80 COVID deaths occurring in kids under the age of 5 and 180 children between the ages of 5 and 17.

(IMAGE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)