Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health has confirmed that a child under the age of 10 has died after testing positive for COVID-19.
The girl from Wellington County died on Monday, but the agency could not provide much more information for privacy reasons.
“The case was COVID-19 positive at the time of death,” spokesperson Danny Williamson said in an email on Friday. “No further information on (the) cause of death is available at this time.”
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph has seen 129 fatal COVID-19 cases during the pandemic, but it’s the first time a child in the region has died with the virus.
Medical officer of health Dr. Nicola Mercer issued a statement offering her condolences and saying each death is a “profound and permanent” loss to those who loved them.
“No words are sufficient to comfort those grieving this terrible loss. In this tragic moment, I offer my deepest condolences on behalf of everyone at public health to the family,” Mercer said.
Children dying from COVID-19 is exceptionally rare, Ontario chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore said during a news conference on Thursday.
When asked about the child’s death, Moore said he was taken aback and not aware of it, but offered condolences to the family.
He added there are only a handful of children in an intensive care unit across Ontario as of Thursday.
“Only 70 per cent of beds in the intensive care unit today for children are being used and we’re not seeing a significant rise in admission,” Moore said.
“You have our assurance that we will learn from any death of any child to try to ensure it wasn’t a failing of the health system.”
According to data from the Ontario government, only nine deaths have been recorded in the 19 and under age group since the beginning of the pandemic.
Toronto Public Health announced this week that a child under the age of four died after testing positive.
A child under the age of 10 in Waterloo Region died in a hospital in September 2021 after contracting the disease. The child had underlying health conditions, according to the local medical officer of health.
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