41-year-old Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 less than a week before he was set to take office

• Louisiana GOP Rep.-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 on Tuesday, less than two weeks after announcing that he tested positive for the virus.
• He was set to be sworn into Congress on Sunday.
• Letlow, 41, had been in the intensive-care unit since December 23.

Louisiana GOP Rep.-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 on Tuesday. He was 41.

"It is with heavy hearts that @FirstLadyOfLA and I offer our condolences to Congressman-elect Luke Letlow's family on his passing after a battle with COVID-19," Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted.

Letlow announced on December 18 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. The next day, he was admitted to the St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, the Monroe News Star reported. On December 23, he was transferred to the intensive-care unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport, where he died.

While he was a patient at the St. Francis Medical Center, Letlow encouraged his constituents to donate blood and plasma.

"While here, I've learned firsthand how important plasma and blood donations are during this pandemic," he wrote on Facebook. "For those who've had Covid already, your plasma is ESPECIALLY needed by those who are suffering. I cannot stress this enough. Please consider saving lives by going out and donating at your local blood bank. It may very well be the gift of life that you are giving a family this Christmas."

He was set to be sworn in at the next congressional session on Sunday. Letlow won his district in a runoff election against Republican Rep. Lance Harris with 62% of the vote, the News Star reported.

Before he was elected, Letlow served as the chief of staff to Rep. Ralph Abraham, Politico reported.

"There was no one like Luke Letlow, and there was no one who loved this state and its people more," Abraham said in a statement on Facebook. "Luke was a part of our family, and we are so incredibly proud of the man he was."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also offered condolences. "Congressman-elect Letlow was a ninth generation Louisianan who fought passionately for his point of view and dedicated his life to public service," she said.

Letlow is survived by his wife and two children.

Louisiana has reported more than 300,000 coronavirus cases since March, and more 7,300 people in the state have died from it.