On August 30, 2021, the Diocese of Cuauhtémoc-Madera announced that López Soto had tested positive for COVID-19.[2] He was admitted to Hospital Ángeles, a private hospital in the city of Chihuahua for treatment.[2][3] López also suffered from several pre-existing cardiac conditions, including three heart surgeries in September 2018 for an obstructed artery, followed by a heart attack days after the operations.[2]
Bishop Juan Guillermo López Soto died from complications of COVID-19, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, at the Hospital Ángeles in Chihuahua on September 8, 2021, at the age of 74.[1][3][4] He had planned to retire in February 2022 when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.[2]