U.S. Congressman-elect dies days before swearing-in
A newly elected U.S. congressman, Luke Letlow has died shortly after testing positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
A Wednesday post on the Republican politician’s Facebook page read: “Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, 41, passed away this evening at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport due to complications from COVID-19.”
The 41-year-old was admitted to the hospital on December 19 after testing positive.
Three days later he was placed in intensive care.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said he ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on the day of Letlow’s funeral, which is yet to be announced.
“Louisiana has lost more than 7,300 people to COVID-19 since March, and each one of them leaves a tremendous hole in our state,” Edwards said as he offered his condolences to the congressman-elect’s family.
Mr. Letlow, who was due to be sworn into office on Sunday following his recent electoral victory, is survived by his wife and two young children.
There are currently more than 19 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The number of cases in the U.S. exceeds that of any other country, and the number is expected to increase following the holiday season.
More than 338,000 people have died in the U.S. from COVID-19.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Heading 2
Nigeria’s Flamingos beat Brazil 3-1 to reach historic U-17 World Cup final
Japan will be playing in their second final.
Heading 4
JD Vance blames Israel, economy for Republicans’ midterm losses
Democrats now have 54 seats in the Senate, while Republicans’ seats dropped to 44.
Africa
Namibia president declares Dangote’s $2.5 billion energy investment landmark for Africa’s industrial future
She described the occasion as the most memorable day of her presidency.
NationWide
2027: Obi pledges to unite Nigeria, tackle insecurity, fight corruption
Mr Obi made the pledge during a town hall meeting in Calabar on Wednesday.
States
NDC inaugurates state campaign council in Anambra
The council also includes all serving elected officials.
States
Gov. Oyebanji warns political appointees against abuse of office
The governor said his second term was not an opportunity for complacency or self-indulgence.
