A 17-year-old has become the youngest person to die of COVID-19 in Tarrant County, according to two sources familiar with the death.
He died at Cook Children’s Medical Center.
His name has not been released, but he had pre-existing medical conditions, according to one official.
Earlier Wednesday, Cook Children’s announced it was treating 21 COVID-19 patients and its seven-day positivity rate was 11.4%.
On Tuesday, Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja said there were only 18-ICU beds open in Tarrant County, and 42% of all ICU beds were filled by someone with COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the health department on Wednesday reported 1,536 new cases of COVID-19 along with another 15 new deaths. Tuesday was the first time since Nov. 17 that county officials reported fewer than 1,000 new cases in a single day, with the exception of Nov. 26-28, when it didn't report due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
COVID-19 causes a respiratory illness with cough, fever and shortness of breath and may lead to bronchitis, severe pneumonia or death. For more information go to coronavirus.tarrantcounty.com or call the Tarrant County Public Health information line, 817-248-6299, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
