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Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Father Passes Away From Coronavirus

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s father died on Monday from complications of coronavirus

The Minnesota Democratic congresswoman announced on Monday as well.

In a statement, she said Nur Omar Mohamed had passed earlier in the day after battling the virus that has sparked a worldwide pandemic. He was 67 years old.

“It is with tremendous sadness and pain that I share that my father, Nur Omar Mohamed, passed away today due to complications from COVID-19,” Omar’s statement read.

“No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew him. My family and I ask for your respect and privacy during this time,” the statement continued.

As of late Monday, the novel coronavirus has infected over 2.1 million people in the US and claimed more than 116,000 lives, according to statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Since her election in 2018, Omar has been at the forefront of promoting progressive policies, including the defunding and reconstruction of the Minneapolis Police Department.

COVID-19 Congress

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in April that her older brother, Don Reed Herring, died of the coronavirus.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) detailed her husband’s struggles after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He ultimately recovered.

President Donald Trump has continued to downplay the rising number of infections in some parts of the country. He has urged states to reopen businesses to revive their economies.

This is despite dire warnings from the nation’s leading health officials that doing so too soon could lead to a second wave of cases. The president suggested Monday that positive diagnoses were on the rise only because of increased testing in the U.S.

“If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any,” he said during an event.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, also said recently that the pandemic was far from over, saying the health community was still “at the beginning of really understanding” the virus.