Update: Second COVID-19 death confirmed in St. Lawrence County

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWNY) - A second person has died from COVID-19 in St. Lawrence County.

The death was first reported by the St. Lawrence County Health Department Tuesday.

The department said the data comes from the New York State Department of Health COVID-19 tracker, which was last updated Monday before 2 p.m. Since state officials have reported incorrect information about COVID-19 deaths in counties in the past, it wasn’t clear that the report of the second death was accurate.

Wednesday morning, 7 News reporter Keith Benman was told the second person died Saturday at Canton-Potsdam Hospital. No other information was immediately available.

This is the second person to die from the coronavirus.

On April 8, 70 year old Wade J. “Butch” James Jr. was the first person in the tri-county region to pass away from COVID-19.

He died at Claxton-Hepburn Hospital in Ogdensburg, where he had been a patient since March 29.

Meanwhile, St. Lawrence County reported no new cases of COVID-19. The count remains at 177.

Officials said 98 people have recovered.

Nine people are currently hospitalized.

To date, 1,465 people have been tested for COVID-19 in the county.