9-Year-Old Texas Girl Dies In Sleep 3 Days After She Tests Positive For COVID-19

A 9-year-old girl died in her sleep three days after testing positive for COVID-19.

Makenzie Gongora of San Antonio, Texas, was found dead on Feb. 2, hours after she was tucked into bed by her mother, reported Today.

According to her parents and relatives, the child had undergone a COVID-19 test on Jan. 29 after she complained of a bad headache and stomach ache. The result came back positive.

Makenzie’s maternal aunt Victoria Southworth reportedly said the child's mother took her to Brooke Army Medical Centre where Makenzie found out she had a fever.

"Kenzie did not have any respiratory issues. There was nothing major going on. All the symptoms were mild," Southworth told the publication.

She said the doctors advised the child could go home.

"The doctors just wanted her to be comfortable, and her fever monitored. If the temperature got over a certain point or in case of other issues, the child could be taken back to the hospital," she added. "However, there was no labored breathing or anything like that, at that point,” Southworth was quoted by Today, as saying.

The family monitored her over the weekend, and the child seemed to be getting better. "However, there would be times when she didn’t feel very well. She started vomiting at one point,” Southworth told KSAT.

On Feb. 1, Makenzie complained of exhaustion just before bedtime. She went to sleep earlier than usual, said the child's paternal aunt Erica Gongora.

"My sister-in-law later checked on her at night and realized that she was no longer breathing and could not find a pulse,” Gongora told KSAT.

The family said they weren’t aware of any underlying conditions. However, they noticed that the child was a little small for her age.

Following Makenzie's death, other members of her family got themselves tested. Both her dad and 8-year-old sister tested positive for COVID-19. Amid the shock and grief, the family is also doing everything to ensure the other child is safe.

As of now, they are awaiting more information about the cause of death. An autopsy is still pending, and the child's body has been sent to a lab in Dallas.

The family also wants to create awareness on how the virus can impact children.

"We want to raise awareness because whatever it is that caused this, there just needs to be a general change in the way that people approach children and Covid,” Southworth told KSAT.