Latest Luzerne County coronavirus death report includes 35-year-old

A 35-year-old Wilkes-Barre man died from the coronavirus this week, which makes him the youngest male victim in Luzerne County since the start of the pandemic, according to county statistics.

The information comes from the latest death report county Manager C. David Pedri released Wednesday, which also lists a 43-year-old Hazleton man and a 58-year-old Wilkes-Barre man among the 32 most recent COVID-19 victims confirmed by the county coroner’s office.

Previously, the youngest male victims were two 42-year-olds. The youngest female was 18.

The reports don’t include names or details about any underlying health conditions.

While most of the victims are older, Pedri said the report is a reminder that coronavirus does not have an “age limit or zip code boundary.”

The latest county victims not in nursing/personal care homes also were residents of Pittston, Nanticoke, Sugar Notch, Luzerne, Shickshinny and the townships of Hazle, Butler and Plains, the new report shows.

“It is literally affecting all of us, and when you see a younger person getting sick and dying as you see here, it should be a wakeup call,” Pedri said. “We’d all like to think we would be fine if we are infected, but you never know.”

Pedri said he is hopeful mass quantities of vaccines will be produced to meet the demand. In line with federal directives, Pennsylvania officials announced Tuesday the current vaccination phase now includes residents 65 and older and those younger than that with conditions making them more prone to serious illness.

He urged residents to keep the victims in their “prayers and mind” as they continue to don masks and sanitize.

Most of the 32 deaths on Pedri’s new report occurred in January, though there were some from December and one dating back to November.

In addition to the three ages 35, 43 and 58, the number of victims in other age groups were: 60s, three; 70s, five; 80s, 13; and 90s, seven. One had no age listed on the report.

Nearly half, or 15, were residents of nine nursing/personal care homes throughout the county.

Both genders were equally impacted, with 16 men and 16 women on the list.

Residents and workers in nursing/personal care homes and assisted living facilities are in the state’s first vaccination phase along with health care workers and those added Tuesday.