COVID-19: Boy, 17, had anemia, kidney disease & suffered a heart attack

The 17-year-old boy from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), who is among Guyana’s latest reported COVID-19 deaths, had several underlying conditions and suffered a heart attack.

According to reliable information provided to the News Room, the boy was admitted to the Infectious Diseases hospital at Liliendaal, Georgetown, on September 19; he succumbed on Wednesday, after suffering a heart attack.

Since he was COVID-19 positive, however, he is recorded as a COVID-19 death.

The News Room was also informed that the boy had anemia – which means that he had low levels of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin. Additionally, he had kidney disease.

This is the sixth child to have died after being infected with COVID-19 in Guyana. Previously, an 11-year-old cancer patient who died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on November 6, 2020, was later classified as a COVID-19 death.

On November 29, 2020, a 6-day old baby boy of Region Three died while receiving care at a medical facility. In May, this year, a young 17-year-old boy also succumbed after he was infected with COVID-19. And in July, a 16-year-old boy, who was receiving treatment in the ICU, also died. More recently, a five-month-old baby girl with a suspected congenital heart condition died too.