The new coronavirus has claimed the life of its youngest victim in Florida, a 9-year-old girl from Putnam County identified as Kimora “Kimmie” Lynum.
Family members said the girl had no underlying health problems when she suddenly had a high fever, according to the New York Post,
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According to a GoFundMe page created on the girl’s behalf, which described her as “jovial, fun, and free-spirited,” Kimmie began experiencing stomach pain and developed a fever of 103 degrees. She was brought to UF Health on July 11, received Tylenol and was treated for an infection, but the fundraising site said she was not tested for COVID-19.
Days later, on July 17, Kimmie was playing and “was in a good mood that day,” according to the page.
But later that day, “she informed her mother that she was feeling tired, so she was going to bed.” A short time later, Kimmie was found insensitive and the CPR efforts by family members were unsuccessful. A COVID-19 test was performed posthumously and showed it to be positive for the coronavirus, according to the page.
“No one deserves this, the words cannot express that she was simply incredible. And she didn’t have a chance to live her life, but she was always happy, she was resilient, and she was an outgoing young woman, “her cousin Dejeon Cain told local media outlet WCJB-TV.
Kimmie had no contact with a person positive for the new coronavirus nor was her case related to travel, according to data from the Florida Department of Health, as quoted by the New York Post.
The girl’s family is now speaking out against allowing the boys to physically return to Florida schools, according to an interview in the Florida First Coast News news outlet.
“He hit the target, and I think a lot of people here don’t understand that we have to take this seriously,” family spokesman Dejeon Cain told the media out of fear that more children could die from COVID-19. .
“We cannot send our children to school in the midst of a pandemic and use them as a pawn. We have lost compassion in our state and local governments,” added Cain.
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“Families need to see that and say ‘OK, how can I minimize the risk?’ Dr. Jason Littleton told FOX 35-TV in Orlando. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a set of guidelines on how to safely reopen schools.)
This is not the only tragedy to hit the family this year. According to various media outlets, Kimmie’s father Theophilus Lynum was shot dead in April in Alachua County, Florida. Police are still investigating his death and no arrests have yet been made.
The GoFundMe page in Kimmie’s name was created to help cover the costs of the funeral and also to establish a scholarship on her behalf.
The girl is the fifth child to die of COVID-19 in the state, according to the New York Post.
