Coronavirus: Teenage boy whose death was linked to COVID-19 turned away from urgent care for not having insurance
Mayor confirms teenager’s death with heart-breaking statement: ‘The Friday before he died, he was healthy ... By Wednesday, he was dead’
Chris Riotta
New York @chrisriotta
Updated: A 17-year-old whose death was initially linked to the novel coronavirus despite not having any previously reported health conditions was denied treatment at California medical facility over his lack of insurance, according to the mayor.
R Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, California, confirmed the teen’s death in a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday, in which he warned residents to take the global pandemic seriously and practice self-isolation and social distancing measures.
“The Friday before he died, he was healthy,” the mayor said about the teenager. “By Wednesday, he was dead.”
The mayor said the teen “didn’t have insurance, so they did not treat him” when he arrived at an urgent care facility in the area. The medical staff then told the child to go to a local public hospital.
“En route to AV Hospital, he went into cardiac arrest,” the mayor said. “They were able to revive him and keep him alive for about six hours. But by the time he got there, it was too late.”
The teen’s death comes amid a wave of reports about young victims suffering deadly symptoms from Covid-19, defying previous assumptions that the novel virus was only fatal for some older patients and people with severe underlying conditions.
Another teen in Louisiana was reported to have passed away this after contracting the coronavirus, as well as a 21-year-old woman in the UK who also had no underlying health issues.
However, Los Angeles’ County Department of Public Health later said the teen’s death was taken off a list of deaths associated with Covid-19 in the area. The department said the CDC would complete an investigation into the teen’s death. It remained unclear what symptoms he may have been experiencing prior to his death.
As health officials warned the country’s hospital system was already reaching capacity, the US confirmed at least 85,000 cases of the coronavirus by Friday. The death toll has meanwhile risen to nearly 1,300, with those figures likely to continue soaring in the coming days.
New York has seen the vast majority of confirmed cases, with nearly 40,000 in total as the state managed to distribute a significant amount of testing kits despite challenges the federal government had procuring test to send to states across the country.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-teenager-death-california-health-insurance-care-emergency-room-covid-19-a9429946.html
Mayor confirms teenager’s death with heart-breaking statement: ‘The Friday before he died, he was healthy ... By Wednesday, he was dead’
Chris Riotta
New York @chrisriotta
Updated: A 17-year-old whose death was initially linked to the novel coronavirus despite not having any previously reported health conditions was denied treatment at California medical facility over his lack of insurance, according to the mayor.
R Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, California, confirmed the teen’s death in a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday, in which he warned residents to take the global pandemic seriously and practice self-isolation and social distancing measures.
“The Friday before he died, he was healthy,” the mayor said about the teenager. “By Wednesday, he was dead.”
The mayor said the teen “didn’t have insurance, so they did not treat him” when he arrived at an urgent care facility in the area. The medical staff then told the child to go to a local public hospital.
“En route to AV Hospital, he went into cardiac arrest,” the mayor said. “They were able to revive him and keep him alive for about six hours. But by the time he got there, it was too late.”
The teen’s death comes amid a wave of reports about young victims suffering deadly symptoms from Covid-19, defying previous assumptions that the novel virus was only fatal for some older patients and people with severe underlying conditions.
Another teen in Louisiana was reported to have passed away this after contracting the coronavirus, as well as a 21-year-old woman in the UK who also had no underlying health issues.
However, Los Angeles’ County Department of Public Health later said the teen’s death was taken off a list of deaths associated with Covid-19 in the area. The department said the CDC would complete an investigation into the teen’s death. It remained unclear what symptoms he may have been experiencing prior to his death.
As health officials warned the country’s hospital system was already reaching capacity, the US confirmed at least 85,000 cases of the coronavirus by Friday. The death toll has meanwhile risen to nearly 1,300, with those figures likely to continue soaring in the coming days.
New York has seen the vast majority of confirmed cases, with nearly 40,000 in total as the state managed to distribute a significant amount of testing kits despite challenges the federal government had procuring test to send to states across the country.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-teenager-death-california-health-insurance-care-emergency-room-covid-19-a9429946.html