UPDATE: Health department changes Berrien COVID-19 death status

Published 9:30 am Tuesday, June 9, 2020

NASHVILLE – The South Health District reports the person identified as the first Berrien County coronavirus death is not a Berrien County resident.

“County of residence information for COVID-19 related deaths is submitted to public health and our reports are based on the information that we receive at time of notification,” according to a statement released Tuesday by the South Health District. “At times errors can occur due to changes of address, human error or misinterpretation of address type.”

Berrien County has had no COVID-19 related deaths as of Tuesday.

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NASHVILLE — Berrien County has registered its first COVID-19 death, according to health authorities.

The victim was a woman, 61; it wasn’t known if she had any underlying health conditions, according to Kristin Patten, public information officer for the South Health District.

This brings the total count of confirmed COVID-19-related deaths in the district to 51, she said.

There are 54 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Berrien County, according to the South Health District’s website.

“We are saddened to learn of the death of another resident of our district,” said Dr. William R. Grow, M.D., FACP, district health director. “We continue to encourage all of our residents of our district to remain vigilant on social-distancing, proper mask usage and hand hygiene to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Slowing the spread of this disease is the most important step we can take to prevent more lives from being lost.”