2-Year-Old Dies Of COVID-19, Life Support Turned Off

A fundraiser has been set up for a toddler in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) who died due to COVID-19 complications, health officials announced Monday.

The 2-year-old child, who was not identified, died at The Children's Hospital in Westmead from a coronavirus infection, NSW's Ministry of Health. The child's life support was turned off Saturday morning, 7News.com.au reported. NSW Health said that prior to the child's death, the toddler was "previously well."

"NSW Health asks for the privacy of this child's family to be respected during this most difficult time," the agency said in its statement.

A friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family financially as they deal with their loss. According to information initially published on the fundraiser, the child's father is a tutor who has taken time off to deal with the family loss.

"I believe by relieving financial pressure to support his family (groceries, rent, etc.), it will help the healing process," the post wrote before it was removed at the request of the family.

There is currently no COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5, according to 9News.com.au.

Aside from the 2-year-old child, NSW Health’s Monday COVID-19 report also confirmed the virus-related deaths of one man and two women. All three adults, who were in their 70s, 80s and 90s, had received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

Four more COVID-19 deaths, split into two men and two women, were reported in NSW Health's most recent statement released Tuesday.

Two of the fatalities were in their 70s, while the other two were in their 90s, according to the agency.

"Older age is a significant risk factor for serious illness and death for COVID-19, particularly when combined with significant underlying health conditions," NSW Health said.

Half of the deaths reported Tuesday had received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, one had received two doses and the last person was unvaccinated.

A total of 2,031 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in NSW since the pandemic began, according to NSW Health.

There are currently 1,177 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospitals. Among the cases, 41 people are in intensive care, 13 of whom required ventilation.

Overall, Australia has reported 3,756,949 coronavirus cases and 5,736 virus-related deaths, according to publicly available government data.

Several parts of the country, such as NSW, Victoria and Queensland, have seen a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, as per 9News.com.au.

Infections in Australia reportedly rose by 37% in the past week, and the increase was linked to omicron's "more transmissible" BA.2 subvariant.