Tragedy as nine-year-old US girl dies in her sleep after testing positive for Covid

She had no pre-existing conditions.

A nine year old girl has died in her sleep after testing positive for Covid-19. Makenzie Gongora, from Texas, tested positive for the virus at the end of January after complaining of feeling run down during her after-school programme. The nine year old was exhibiting mild coronavirus symptoms so her parents took her for a test on January 31, to which she tested positive. She died in her sleep three days later, despite having no pre-existing conditions. "Kenzie was complaining about a really bad headache and then they took her temperature and she had a fever," aunt Victoria Southworth, told local news source KSAT.

“Doctors told them kind of the standard thing that they told parents with kids with Covid, especially with no respiratory issues, to keep an eye on her, keep her comfortable.

“She seemed to be recuperating. There would be times when she didn’t feel very well. She started vomiting at one point."

Southworth said Makenzie was complaining of a stomach ache on February 1. She went to bed early and was tragically found dead the next morning. Southworth said the family are now looking for answers.

“We want to get answers as to why she was taken so quickly from us,” she said. “We want to raise awareness because whatever it is that caused this, there just needs to be a general change in the way that people approach children and Covid."

Makenzie's family are awaiting autopsy results to confirm the girl's cause of death, but they remain positive that her passing was Covid-related. According to the HSE, Covid is much less common in children compared to adults, with many children exhibiting little to no symptoms. A GoFundMe set up in memory of the nine year old has already raised over $70,000. "Makenzie's mom, Kristle, is a front-line essential worker in the medical field," said Southworth on the page. "Makenzie's dad, Nathan, is in the Army and has been deployed overseas twice. Both Kristle and Nathan have given so much of themselves for others, this is our chance to give back to them." Feature image via GoFundMe.