SINGAPORE, Sept 15 — A three-year-old girl has died from Covid-19, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said yesterday (September 14), making it the third coronavirus death involving a child below the age of 12 in Singapore.
The Singaporean toddler died on Tuesday, MoH said in response to TODAY’s queries.
“The patient had a past history of multiple medical conditions prior to her Covid-19 infection,” it added.
The girl tested positive for Covid-19 via an antigen rapid test on August 9 and was admitted to the hospital on August 13.
“The patient passed away on September 13 and the cause of death was determined to be anoxic brain injury due to cardiac arrest and Covid-19 infection,” MoH said.
“MoH extends our deepest condolences to the patient’s family.” Anoxic brain injury happens when the brain is starved of oxygen.
On June 27, an 18-month-old boy named Zaheer Raees Ali became the first patient below the age of 12 to die from Covid-19.
The cause of death was encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) due to Covid-19, as well as viral infections caused by the respiratory syncytial virus and enterovirus.
His father, Basharath Ali, said that the boy’s temperature hit 41°C and had to be hospitalised. The family later found out that the boy had meningoencephalitis, or the inflammation of the brain and membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, and there was little that could be done.
Zaheer's death was followed by the death on July 17 of a four-year-old girl who contracted Covid-19.
She died from Covid-19 pneumonia. Like Zaheer, she was previously well and had no past medical history.
Earlier on Tuesday, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the Covid-19 vaccine rollout for children under five years old, as well as booster shots for those from six months to 11 years old, will begin late October or early November.
However, there are no plans yet to include Covid-19 vaccination in the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule, Ong said in Parliament. ― TODAY
