Hawaii has noted the first COVID-19 related death under 11 years old in the country on Tuesday, Apr. 27.
According to the Hawaii Department of Health, the boy had already felt some symptoms at the time. Despite being accompanied by fully vaccinated parents en route to the Western part of the US, it is still a mystery how he contracted the coronavirus.
First Coronavirus Death Under The Age of 11
In an official statement, David Ige, the Governor of Hawaii since 2014, said that what happened to the child is "especially" heartbreaking to take amid the continuous mourning to those who died from the virus.
He continued that he expressed his deepest condolences to the young boy's family, as well as his other relatives, friends, and loved ones.
The death of the boy was also the first COVID-19 related fatality in Hawaii within the said age bracket. Currently, the state has already listed 479 deaths connected to the coronavirus, CTV News reported.
Earlier, Brooks Baehr, a spokesman of the Department of Health said that the symptoms were already showing to the child upon his arrival to Hawaii. He was rushed to the hospital but later succumbed to the deadly virus.
Before going to the state, the parents of the young boy were tested negative for COVID-19. They were also fully vaccinated at the time.
It was confirmed by Baehr that both the child's parents were negative to the virus. This also means that the child did not get COVID-19 from his parents.
For the outside travelers, Hawaii could make use of an exemption from the coronavirus test through a negative result. Having said that, this falls to an exemption of undergoing a mandatory quarantine for 10 days.
Before the arrival to the state, those children who are under five years old are not required to undergo a test. In line with this incident, the spokesman had no idea if the young boy underwent the procedure.
"While the parents appear to have taken the steps to insulate the child from COVID by, you know, getting vaccinated and they were tested before they came, this child still somehow was infected with the virus and eventually succumbed to it," Baehr stated.
Baehr continued that the additional details about the death of the young boy were not publicized due to laws concerning the privacy of the involved persons.
Vaccine Passport to be Implemented to All US Visitors
Earlier this week, Travel Weekly reported that those travelers who have full COVID-19 vaccination proof can now go between the Hawaiian islands without undergoing quarantine protocols and testing beginning on May 11.
However, they will only be allowed if they got their vaccine within the Aloha State.
This announcement was Gov. Ige's update in line with what happened on Apr. 20 during a press conference's Safe Travels program. He also said that another implementation that is similar to the previous one is already in development.
It is expected that it will be announced at a later period. Presently, Hawaii could only conduct the verification of the records limited to those who got vaccines locally.
In the coming months, Ige wants to accomplish having a verification system for the vaccine which will also include those who travel out of the state.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
