A 5-year-old boy in Chicago who was staying at a migrant shelter has died of sepsis, which developed after he contracted COVID-19 and Strep A.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office shared the update after the boy died in December in a report on Feb. 16, according to NBC Chicago. The report also said the boy, identified as Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero, had two other viruses that played a role in his death.
The Chicago Department of Public Health initially said the boy died from a medical emergency. The city said boy’s family had left the shelter on Dec. 17 and returned around 2:30 p.m. About 15 minutes later, staff called in a medical emergency and first aid was given to him. A short time later, he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“It’s too much for a little body. It really is sad,” Dr. Juanita Mora, an allergist and immunologist, told NBC Chicago.
“We have to remember that a 5-year-old has a very small amount of volume when it comes to bodily fluids. So, when an overwhelming infection like COVID-19 hits his body, and at the same time he gets strep throat, it starts going into the blood stream, it starts affecting the rest of the organs.”
Officials with the fire department told NBC Chicago they took other sick kids from the same shelter in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood to the hospital later that week.
“The City of Chicago again expresses our deepest condolences to the family of Jean Carlos Martínez Rivero,” Chicago Major Brandon Johnson’s office said in a Feb. 17 statement that confirmed how the boy died. “This is a tragic loss, and we appreciate the work of community partners supporting the Martínez Rivero family during this difficult time.”
The statement added EMS workers tried to save him, while noting the steps taken to help people in…
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