Teen's Dad Dies On Same Day Of Mom's Funeral; Both To COVID-19

A teen in Ohio has lost both of her parents to COVID-19 as case rates across the state hit record-breaking numbers.

Allison Brady was just eight days away from her 17th birthday when her mother, Kimberly, tested positive for COVID-19. Kimberly worked as a hairstylist and had been battling diabetes when she was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Sept. 19.

Allison's mother was taken off life support on Sept. 21 and her funeral was held on the 27th. The girl’s father Jim was rushed to the hospital on Sept. 26. He was also diagnosed with COVID-19 and died the same morning as Kimberly’s funeral, just two months before the holiday season.

“It was just very scary. It didn’t seem real,” Allison told WFLA. “[The holidays are] going to be very difficult. They’re going to be very, very difficult,” she added.

Health officials in Ohio have been seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases across the state over the past few days, with new infections reaching more than 9,100 Thursday. The figures were the highest recorded since September.

The state also reported 3,916 new hospitalizations over the past day. The last time the numbers were that high was on Jan. 12, when Ohio saw a winter peak of COVID-19 cases. Much of the new hospitalizations were recorded in northeastern Ohio, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Data from the Ohio Hospital Association’s dashboard showed that 25% of patients in the state’s intensive care units were admitted due to COVID-19 complications. Approximately 17% of patients in hospitals were diagnosed with COVID-19.

The new surge of novel coronavirus cases is expected to put a strain on hospitals battling with bed and staff shortages.

"It's really a huge race to get ahead of this virus before we see other variants start emerging. Because that will be a game-changer that will set back any progress we make,” John Palmer, the director of media and public relations for the Ohio Hospital Association, told 10TV.

As of Thursday, Ohio recorded a total of 1,699,161 COVID-19 infections and 26,587 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to an analysis by The New York Times.