The death of a 9-year-old girl from Putnam County, Florida has a family coming to grips with the devastating loss.
Kimora “Kimmie” Lynum was a healthy child with no pre-existing conditions that would make her susceptible to COVID-19, according to family spokesperson Dejeon Cain. But she died in mid-July 2020, making her the youngest child in the state to die of the virus since the start of the pandemic.
Family and friends alike say Kimmie was an outgoing little girl with an adorable smile.
“She was doing good at one point, and all of a sudden she had a situation with a fever,” Cain said.
According to First Coast News, Kimora had no pre-existing health issues and her mother took her to the hospital because she had a high fever. The hospital sent her home and she collapsed a short time later, Cain said. She ended up dying in her sleep later that night.
According to data from the Florida Department of Health, Kimora’s infection was not travel-related and she did not have contact with a person known to have COVID-19. The state does not report pre-existing conditions.
As of Sunday, there have been 13 COVID-19 deaths in Putnam County, and 1,169 total cases.
Kimora’s death brings to light the debate of children going back inside schools during this pandemic. Some say that the schools should remain closed until numbers go down. Others argue that children are least affected by the virus, so schools should open back up and allow kids to enter.
According to data, Generally, COVID-19 symptoms are milder in children than in adults. In a recent study published in Pediatrics of COVID-19 in Chinese children, 90% of those who tested positive for the disease had mild symptoms or none at all.
Fever and cough are common COVID-19 symptoms in both adults and children; shortness of breath is more likely to be seen in adults. Children can have pneumonia, with or without obvious symptoms. They can also experience sore throat, excessive fatigue, or diarrhea.
However, serious illness in children with COVID-19 is possible, and parents should stay alert if their child is diagnosed with or shows signs of the disease. In the study, 10% of infants with a positive COVID-19 test became critically ill. Severe illness rates were lower in older children, but there were rare cases of children in each age group requiring hospitalization.
But it seems like Florida is a hotbed for the virus right now. On July 16, the state had a total of 23,170 children ages 17 and under who had tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Florida Department of Health. By July 24, that number jumped to 31,150.
And more children in Florida are requiring hospitalization. As of July 16, 246 children had been hospitalized with coronavirus. But by July 24th that number had jumped to 303.
Kimora’s death at least warrants us to really take a look at what’s really happening in our own county, town and local school system to effectively plan our return.
“It hit home, and I think a lot of people out here are not understanding that we have to take this thing seriously,” Cain said. “We have to be prepared.”
For more on how to help the family of Kimora, the family has set up a Go Fund Me page. Please support if you can.
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