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Coronavirus: 9-year-old girl dies of COVID-19 in Florida

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — A 9-year-old girl has died of the novel coronavirus in Florida, making her the youngest person to die of the viral infection in the state, health officials said Wednesday.

The Putnam County girl had no recent travel history that might explain her infection and no known contact with any confirmed COVID-19 case, according to the Florida Department of Health. Officials said the girl died July 18.

Previously, the youngest people to die of the coronavirus in Florida were an 11-year-old Broward County girl who died July 2 and an 11-year-old Dade County boy who died July 1.

Officials on Wednesday reported 139 new deaths related to COVID-19 and 9,785 new infections statewide. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, officials have confirmed 379,619 cases of COVID-19 in Florida and 5,345 deaths.

As of Thursday morning, more than 15.2 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide and more than 624,000 people have died of the viral infection, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has been the hardest hit by the virus, with more than 3.9 million cases and over 143,000 deaths.