The New York Post reports:
Louisiana Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who died while battling COVID-19, suffered a heart attack following a procedure, a hospital official said.
The 41-year-old was receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport when he died Tuesday, the Monroe News-Star reported.
LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor G.E. Ghali confirmed Letlow underwent an operation related to the virus and later went into cardiac arrest. “It’s devastating to our entire team,” Ghali told the paper, adding that he “had no underlying conditions.”
The Washington Post reports:
As the coronavirus ravaged Louisiana, Letlow urged residents to follow social distancing guidelines and to listen to doctors, noting that Abraham, a physician, had returned to Louisiana to help treat covid-19 patients.
But photos on his Twitter page show he had an inconsistent record of wearing masks while campaigning, sometimes covering his face at meet-and-greets but also speaking indoors without a mask on to rooms of mask-free residents.
At a candidate forum in October, Letlow urged the state to ease pandemic restrictions, saying, “We’re now at a place if we do not open our economy, we’re in real danger.”
Asked if Letlow had any underlying conditions that would have made his death more likely, Dr. GE Ghali at LSU-Shreveport said “None. All covid related.” https://t.co/91R3wGuOEw
— Sam Karlin (@samkarlin) December 30, 2020
Our hearts break tonight as we process the news of Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s passing.
I spoke with his wife, Julia. Judy and I are praying for her and their two young children during this terrible time.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) December 30, 2020
Nancy Pelosi comments on the death of Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, who died at 41 of COVID-19 complications: “It could happen to anyone…Let us extend deepest sympathy to their family, and to those little babies who have lost their daddy” https://t.co/eunoKTG5PS pic.twitter.com/Ffh2rdBZNT
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 30, 2020