A 13-year-old boy in California died after experiencing symptoms of the new coronavirus despite initially testing negative for COVID-19, his family says.
Maxx Cheng, 13, of Claremont, began to isolate himself in his room after showing signs of COVID-19, meaning nausea, vomiting, and chest pain, on July 4. She was tested for the deadly virus a few days later, on July 9, but received a negative result, Charlotte Cheng, the teen’s sister, told KCBS-TV television in Los Angeles.
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“His symptoms coincided, but then the test came back negative,” he added. “So we were a little confused.”
Maxx returned home after the test and continued to isolate himself in his room despite the negative test result. During isolation, he also developed fever and cough.
He was apparently improving until his family found him numb in his room Thursday night, his sister says.
“We went to see him like we normally do,” said Charlotte Cheng, 21. “I wasn’t responding. We found him passed out in the room.
“There was almost no cough,” he added. “The fever had dropped three days before his death.”
A GoFundMe page created with the teenager’s name described him as “athletic, smart, fun and mature.” Maxx, who played viola and swam competitively, also leaves a twin brother.
The family is now awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine his cause of death and to find out whether or not he had COVID-19, according to KCBS-TV. It is currently unclear whether Maxx suffered from an underlying condition.
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Charlotte Cheng said the family adhered to experts’ recommended safety precautions, so they are not sure where Maxx contracted the new virus if he did.
“Someone who is athletic, someone who is on the swim team who is so energetic and active dies because of that, it changes the conversation,” Nichole Weinstein, a family friend and organizer of the GoFundMe page on behalf of the Cheng family, he said on the way out.
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