Ron Rich, a volunteer at the Winter Party in Miami Beach which took place in early March, has died from COVID-19, making him the second attendee to succumb to complications from the coronavirus.
RELATED: 40-Year-Old Winter Party Attendee is First COVID-19 Fatality in Miami-Dade County
Wrote the National LGBTQ Task Force on Facebook: “The National LGBTQ Task Force is mourning the passing of a loyal volunteer, Ron Rich, who succumbed to COVID-19 over the weekend. Ron was a familiar face to the guests who attended the Task Force Gala, Winter Party Festival and our Fort Lauderdale house parties over the past five years as his big smile and warmth had him mostly serving on our hospitality team. Ron also volunteered with the Outshine Film Festival and Lambda Legal. He will be missed. We extend our condolences to his family and friends.”
Vin Kruger, a close friend of Rich's, told Local 10: “‘They're putting me on a ventilator' was the last thing he wrote me, and that was Friday morning. He was just, for me, he was like my security blanket.”
Israel Carreras, a 40-year-old gay Miami man who died last week, was the first coronavirus-related fatality recorded in Miami-Dade County.
