9-year-old dies 3 days after testing positive for COVID-19

A 9-year-old girl died in her sleep only three days after she was diagnosed positive for COVID-19. Fourth-grader Makenzie Gongora of San Antonio, Texas was discovered lifeless in bed after complaining of exhaustion. The little girl was tucked in by her mother, Kristle Gongora, but little did her family know that it would be the last time that her mom would ever get to say goodnight.

Erica Gongora, the aunt of the little girl, who is her father's sister, told Today that Makenzie was complaining of having a really bad headache, as well as a bad stomachache on Jan. 29. At that time, she was at after-school care. The staff at the care center took her temperature and it was then they found out that the girl had a fever.

Victoria Southworth, the maternal aunt of Makenzie, narrated that the girl's mom immediately took her to the Brooke Army Medical Center. She underwent three tests - a COVID-19 test, a strep test, and a flu test. Her flu and strep test turned out negative. However, she tested positive for COVID-19.

Makenzie's aunt said that the little girl did not have respiratory issues and that there was nothing major going on with the child. She also added that all the symptoms were simply mild. Doctors then instructed Makenzie's mom to bring her home and to make her comfortable. She was also asked to closely monitor her fever.

While observing Makenzie, her family saw that Makenzie did not experience any labored breathing. Her symptoms would come and go but her condition was basically manageable.

However, on Feb. 1, Makenzie started complaining about feeling very exhausted, so she was tucked into bed early. Later that night, Makenzie's mom checked on her and discovered that her daughter was no longer breathing.

What baffled the family was that the girl had no underlying conditions. The only thing that they noticed was that she was a bit small for her age. KSAT reported that the family wants to get answers as to why she was taken so quickly from them.

On the day she died, her family also got COVID-19 tests and both her father and her younger sister also tested positive.