MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) -- A Mecklenburg County spokesperson has confirmed to FOX 46 Charlotte that an elementary-aged child has died from COVID-19.
On Friday, the family identified the little boy to FOX 46 Charlotte as 6-year-old Ethan Govan.
Ethan's family describes the little boy as a 'happy baby,' smiling and laughing at everything. Family tells FOX 46 that Ethan passed away from COVID-19 complications on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools tells FOX 46 Charlotte that the child was a student of Stoney Creek Elementary School.
The death comes at a time when doctors are warning about a surge of kids with COVID-19 in the hospital.
“We are seeing significantly higher numbers than we’ve ever seen of pediatric patients getting admitted,” said Dr. Solange Benjamin-Thorpe with Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital.
While kids rarely contracted the coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic, now they make up nearly a third of all cases nationwide.
The more contagious Delta Variant has dramatically changed the numbers.
“What’s incredibly alarming is most of these patients don’t have any underlying conditions,” said Dr. Benjamin-Thorpe. “So you can’t assume that your child is healthy so they’re not going to be at risk of this.”
Dr. Amina Ahmed, a Pediatric Infectious Disease Expert, says she’s now seeing a surge of kids with MISC, or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome.
The disease, which causes different body parts to become inflamed including the heart and other organs, usually appears two to four weeks after the child is diagnosed with COVID, according to Dr. Ahmed.
“These are kids that may not have had major infection with COVID-19,” said Dr. Ahmed. “But two to four weeks later will present with severe disease.”
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