Tennessee mayor Lonnie Norman dies from coronavirus after ‘valiant fight’

Tennessee mayor Lonnie Norman died on Monday from the coronavirus

Tennessee mayor Lonnie Norman has become the latest to succumb to the coronavirus after a “valiant fight.”

City officials in Manchester where he was the mayor confirmed his death in a Facebook post. It was revealed that he’d been hospitalized since the start of the month with COVID-19 and died in the early hours of Monday.

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“With a deep sense of sadness and loss, we announce the passing of Mayor Lonnie Norman after being hospitalized for COVID-19 on October 1, 2020,” the Facebook post read. “Mayor Norman passed away in the early hours of Monday, October 12, 2020, after a valiant fight against COVID-19.”

His passing was also confirmed by the mayor’s Executive Administrative Assistant Sage Keele.

“With a deep sense of sadness and loss, we announce the passing of Mayor Lonnie Norman,” Keele said.

Manchester police transported his remains to Central Funeral Home, WKRN reported. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Norman was first elected to his position in 1991, becoming the first black mayor of Manchester. He recently began his third consecutive term in office after his re-election in 2012 according to WPLN.

Immediately, the tributes began to pour in for Norman from constituents and colleagues.

“Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman’s death after contracting COVID-19 is a major tragedy for our state. My heart and my prayers are with him and his family,” Christopher J. Hale, a candidate for Congress in Tennessee tweeted.

Norman’s death came as there has been an increase in the number of coronavirus infections in Tennessee. There have been 2,068 new diagnoses and nine deaths in the past 24 hours per the state’s department of health.

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Over the weekend, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival which brings more than 80,000 concertgoers to the city each year, sent their well wishes to Norman.

“The incredible, Mayor Lonnie Norman, of our hometown Manchester, TN has been hospitalized due to COVID-19,” the festival wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “The Bonnaroo family sends him all the love and hopes for a quick and speedy recovery.”

The duties of Manchester mayor have been taken over by Vice Mayor Marilyn Howard.

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