The boy drowned in a bathing suit after being seized due to a high fever, Chatham County Coroner Bill Wessinger told CNN Monday. The child had no known underlying health conditions.
After being found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the hospital, the child tested positive for Covid-19 postmortem, Wessinger said.
The preliminary report says that the child died of drowning, secondary to seizure of fever from Covid-19. The final report is still pending toxicology tests, he said.
Although the death was reported Thursday, Wessinger said the child died about two weeks before his death was reported by the health department.
Seizures due to high fever are very common in children who have the coronavirus, Wessinger said.
The boy, who is African-American, is the youngest person with the disease to die in the state.
Wessinger said the state is still investigating reports that the child attended the same church where two older members also tested positive and died from the virus.
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