Health officials in Los Angeles have backtracked on previous statements, saying it’s possible a teen boy thought to have died from the CCP virus had some other complication.
“Though early tests indicated a positive result for COVID-19, the case is complex and there may be an alternate explanation for this fatality and the case will need evaluation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” according to a new county statement.
The unnamed 17-year-old was one of three new deaths reported in the city on March 24, Los Angeles Public Health officials wrote on Twitter.
.@lapublichealth has confirmed three new deaths and 128 new cases of #COVID19. One individual was a youth under the age of 18, and two other individuals were between 50-70 years old.
Total cases in LA County= 662
Total deaths= 11 https://t.co/X5rrehDpnh— Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) March 24, 2020
Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris said the boy had been hospitalized with respiratory problems and died from septic shock, a reaction to a widespread infection that can cause dangerously low blood pressure and organ failure, according to The Associated Press.
Parris said the teen’s father has been diagnosed with the CCP virus, and that at his job he was in close contact with the public.
The Lancaster mayor also said that the teen may have suffered from long-term health problems in the past, but was healthy recently. Parris said he has no doubts the teen died from the CCP virus.
“We’re the first city in the nation to lose a child and that is unbearable to me,” Parris said.
According to a report by the CDC last week, there were no recorded deaths in the United States among people under the age of 19. That age group accounted for less than 3 percent of all hospitalizations.
Lancaster Officials said they are asking the CDC to evaluate the case.
According to March 23 figures from the California Department of Public Health, California had 2,102 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 40 deaths.
NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China before it was transmitted worldwide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
