Lindenwood alumna is first St. Louis COVID-19 death

Jazmond+Dixon%2C+the+first+death+from+COVID-19+in+St.+Louis+City%2C+was+also+a+graduate+of+Lindenwood+University.++Photo+taken+from+her+personal+Facebook.

Jazmond Dixon, the first death from COVID-19 in St. Louis City, was also a graduate of Lindenwood University.
Photo taken from her personal Facebook.

Kayla Drake, Reporter

St. Louis City’s first death from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus, was a Lindenwood University alumna, Jazmond Dixon.

She graduated from Lindenwood in 2019 with a master’s in business administration and was 31 years old.

According to Fox 2, Dixon went to Urgent Care last Tuesday with flu-like symptoms. Her doctor sent her to the hospital, where doctors put her on a ventilator because her oxygen levels continued to drop. On Sunday, Dixon died from the disease.

Fox 2 said Dixon’s death left medical personnel and her family “baffled” because she has no known previous medical conditions.

“We’re devastated, we’re broken, we’re hurting,” her cousin, Belafae Johnson, said in a Fox 2 interview. He said her condition deteriorated fast, from phone calls telling him to come see her, to a phone call telling him “she’s no longer with us.”

Currently the family has not started planning a funeral, as their grieving has been made harder by the prohibition of gatherings of over 10 people.

“Just a few weeks ago, the coronavirus was a headline from China, and never in a million years did my family think that we would one day have experienced our loved one, our Jazz, to be the first official victim in the City of St. Louis. It’s crazy,” Johnson said to KSDK.

St. Louis City mayor Lyda Krewson tweeted that officials believe Dixon contracted COVID-19 without traveling.

Director of Health for the city Dr. Fredrick Echols said in a statement: “This tragic loss to our community is a reminder that no one is immune to getting COVID-19. Anyone, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status can get infected if they are exposed. For this reason, everyone must protect themselves, their family, friends and colleagues, by following the preventive measures and social distancing guidelines.”

St. Louis County has 100 confirmed cases and St. Louis has 23 confirmed cases as of March 24, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. St. Charles County has 11 positive cases.

While the data has shown the disease largely affects older people, the most reported cases in St. Louis are people 20-29.