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Coronavirus Heartbreak: 5-Year-Old Girl Dies After Two Weeks On Ventilator

Skylar Herbert, whose parents are emergency responders, becomes the youngest COVID-19 patient to die in Michigan.

A five-year-old girl from Detroit has reportedly passed away after contracting the coronavirus.

Skylar Herbert complained to her parents a month ago about a headache and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.

Skylar’s mother LaVondria says her daughter later formed a rare case of meningitis and brain swelling, which led to her being possibly brain dead.

“We basically just knew she wasn't coming back to us,” the mother told the Detroit News.

Skylar is believed to be the first child infected with the coronavirus to die in Michigan. Her parents, who are first responders in Detroit, said they don’t know how their daughter contracted the virus and claim she had no other health issues.

Skylar checked into the hospital on April 3 and developed meningoencephalitis, a rare complication of the coronavirus, which causes swelling of brain tissue and a lesion on her frontal lobe. A spokesman for Beaumont Health described Skylar's death as a “tragedy.”

“The loss of a child, at any time, under any circumstances, is a tragedy,” the spokesman wrote in a statement. “We are heartbroken that COVID-19 has taken the life of a child. We extend our deepest sympathy to Skylar's family and all others who have lost a loved one to this virus.”

There have been 31,348 confirmed cases in Michigan of the coronavirus as of Monday (April 20), which has caused 2,389 deaths. 

For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

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