The City of Cambridge resident has reported its first death from Covid-19. (Photo: Marc Levy)

A man in his 80s has died from Covid-19, the first death in the city, the Cambridge Public Health Department announced Sunday. The victim had been hospitalized, the department said.

As of Sunday, there were 70 cases of coronavirus among Cambridge residents.

โ€œOn 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,โ€ said Claude Jacob, the cityโ€™s chief public health officer and director of the Cambridge Public Health Department.

The state Department of Public Health said Sunday that 48 people have died from the virus in Massachusetts, whole 4,955 residents have tested positive.

The local health department said the potential public health threat from Covid-19 remains high in Cambridge, the state and the nation. The department said all residents should consider themselves โ€œat risk for infectionโ€ because the virus โ€œis circulating widely in the community.โ€


This post was updated March 29, 2020, shortly after publication, to correct that details about the victim were included in a city press release.

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Sue Reinert is a Cambridge resident who writes on housing and health issues. She is a longtime reporter who wrote on health care for The Patriot Ledger in Quincy.

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