The first U.S. COVID death was reportedly a month before everyone thought

COVID-19 patient
(Image credit: APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images)

Kansas great-grandmother Lovell "Cookie" Brown died on Jan. 9, 2020. Originally, her death certificate cited "chronic obstructive lung disease," but it has since been updated to include COVID-19, making her the first official coronavirus death in the U.S.

The Mercury News reports that Brown's family only learned of the amendment to her death certificate this week. Previously, the first recorded COVID death in the U.S. was Feb. 6, 2020.

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